A Normal Girl
by QueenHimiko
Summary: When Lina gets sick, Gourry is confronted with a difficult decision. COMPLETE!
1. Gourry's Conundrum

**AN: I do not own _The Slayers,_ I just play in the sandbox.**

* * *

Gourry set a pillow on the grass, and then laid down on his back, resting his head on his hands as he watched as Lina took off her mantle and set it down beside him. "It's so good to finally relax!"

Lina sat down and then moved so her head was resting on his stomach and they made a T. "It's strange," she reflected as she stared up at the clouds, "much as I like being with Zel and Amelia, it does feel as though the mission is never fully completed until they are gone."

"Well, somehow it always works out that when the four of us are together the world becomes endangered."

"That's a rather good observation, coming from you." Lina said with a smirk, "If us getting together with them is what brings out the wannabe world destroying crazies then the best thing to do is to not ever get with them."

"Either that, or the vibes those crazies put out is what brings us together." He countered as he stroked her hair. Finally the all of the white was gone and the red had fully returned after the last Giga Slave she'd performed. "So, where are we off to now?"

"Oh, do I have to plan everything?" Lina groaned.

"Well, if you don't want to, I'm fine just picking a random direction and walking."

Lina smiled a little. "Just make sure there's a beach in the direction we hit."

"Sounds like fun." He said.

"Provided no one wrecks it." Lina said. "Though I guess it's good, if they have to wreck something, that they do it in places where I'm at. Though just once I wish they'd give it a rest. Let someone else handle it."

"Can someone else even handle it? I mean perhaps the reason you're a Mazoku magnet is because you're so good at what you do."

Lina smiled, and then moved so she was resting comfortably on top of him, her chin perched on the hand that was resting on his chest. He smiled as he moved one hand to cup her waist. _This_ was the nice thing about the others being gone. Lina would relax her guard and become affectionate again. He marveled that even after a few years of cuddling like this on and off she would still flush a little when they did this. It was cute, even if it led to the root of his frustration that she was too shy to let the others know that they were a couple. She moved and gave him a peck on the lips, "So I'm one of a kind, huh?"

"Well, I don't think there's anyone else in the world who can do the things that you have. It does make you special."

She kissed him again, deeper this time, and longer. She pulled away and grinned at him, and he moved his hand from her waist to stroke her cheek. He thought about telling her he loved her, but he didn't want to ruin the moment. "We'd better get going if we're going to find an inn tonight." She said.

He looked at the sun, which was starting to sink low into the sky. "Right."

She grabbed his hand when he got up, and they set off in a random direction. "Perhaps, when we get to the beach," she said coyly, "We can try sharing a room?"

His heart raced as his face flushed. "Do you love me?"

"Huh?" she asked as her eyes widened.

"If you're wanting to go that far, I mean, I think we should say it first." He said. "And, maybe, let other people know about us?"

She squeezed his hand, "Perhaps, a long walk by the beach might get me in the mood to make some confessions."

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, "You have this all planned out, don't you?"

"Hey, someone as special as me deserves something ultra romantic!" Lina insisted. "I have high expectations!"

He sighed as he shook his head, "See, this is why I never give you compliments. You'll take a mile if offered an inch!"

"But how often are you going to find someone who can do what I do?" she asked.

He chuckled as he ran his fingers through her hair, "I guess there's a reason I put up with it!"

* * *

Lina set her chicken down and looked at it distastefully and said a sentence that Gourry thought he'd never hear her say, "I don't think I can eat this."

"Whoa, who are you and what have you done with Lina?" he asked.

He was expecting a bit of snark or a smack for his comment, but instead she pushed her food away. "I think I'm going to go and turn in early."

He looked at her and noted that she was still flushed. He put a hand on her forehead and frowned, "You do feel warm. Go get some rest. I'll check in on you in a bit."

"Thanks." She said as she got up and walked to the stairs.

Gourry continued eating, noting that whatever she had it didn't appear to affect him yet, so hopefully he wouldn't get it and he could take care of her. He wasn't too worried. Most likely it was a cold and Lina would be back to her usual self soon. After he finished eating he went upstairs and used the spare key to her room. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Crappy." She said.

"Is there anything I can get you?"

"No, I just want to sleep. See you in the morning."

"Right. Feel better!"

* * *

"Lina," Gourry called as he knocked on her door the next day, "I got you some breakfast."

He didn't expect her to answer and already he was unlocking the door. When he came inside he was stunned to see how much worse she looked as her eyes fluttered groggily open. "I'm not hungry. Throw it out the window." She said.

He set it on her bed stand and touched her forehead. She was burning up! "I'm going to send for a healer." He said.

"Fine." She replied as she turned around and closed her eyes.

* * *

Gourry watched as the errand boy left to fetch a healer while the innkeeper looked at him, "Is there anything else I can get for you, son?"

Gourry thought about how warm Lina was. Surely they would need to bring her fever down. "Do you have any ice?" he asked.

"Unfortunately the sorcerer who lives in this town who produced ice for everyone got sick." The innkeeper explained.

Gourry straightened in alarm, "You mean this killed him?"

"Goodness, no!" the innkeeper replied, "But every magic user who's gotten this fever has lost their powers."

* * *

A sense of surrealness clung to Gourry as he walked back up the stairs to Lina's room. Surely this was a mistake. Lina couldn't lose her powers. Not permanently. It was unthinkable! When he returned to her room he didn't say anything to Lina about what he had heard from the innkeeper. There was no need to worry her about something she couldn't control when she needed to rest so badly. And rest she did! He put a cold compress on her forehead but he doubted that she even noticed. He sat in a chair by her bed as he waited for the healer. It seemed to take forever for her to get there. Finally there was a knock on the door, and when Gourry opened it a tall woman wearing white robes was there. "Is this where the sick woman is?" she asked.

"Yes." Gourry said as he moved to let her in.

"I'm Releah." She stated cheerfully as she went over and started examining Lina, who didn't so much as stir.

"I've heard there's something going around." Gourry said.

"Yes, this is the fourth case I've seen this week." Releah commented, and her sunny demeanor seemed rather out of place with the situation, "Looks like she's at the sleeping stage."

"Sleeping stage?" Gourry asked.

"Yes, nothing will wake her up now until it passes." Releah said as she added with a wistful sigh, "So, she's a magic user?"

"She is." Gourry confirmed as his stomach started to churn. He didn't want to hear confirmation of the fact that Lina would likely lose her powers.

"That's the strange thing about this, it only seems to affect active magic users. It has to be only those who actively practice magic. Considering more people have some magic capacity then actively practice it if it was magic capacity alone then more people would get this." Releah explained rapidly. "Is she a powerful sorceress?"

"Very," Gourry said, "The most powerful one I've ever met."

"Such a shame. Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that as bad as this looks, she'll live. On its own its not killed anyone."

At least there was that, "But will she still have her powers?

"Unfortunately, no. This fever goes out with a bang! It will increase and increase and cause a series of catastrophic seizures. It's terrible to watch, and it must also cause some sort of brain damage that leaves magic users unable to use their magic. Other than that they're fine."

Gourry felt like he understood very little of what Releah had said, just that bottom line she would be magicless, "Oh. But she can get the ability back?"

Releah shook her head, "So far no one who has come down with this has. But then this only came onto the scene a few months ago. Perhaps with time some people will, but so far it hasn't happened."

Gourry sat down on the chair and grabbed Lina's hand as Releah considered him. "Are you a gambling man?"

"Huh?" Gourry said.

"Do you gamble? Make bets? Take risks?"

"What sort of risks?" Gourry asked.

"Well, I've been experimenting with antiepileptics."

"Anti-what?" Gourry asked.

"Medicines that stop seizures. I'm wondering if I stop the seizures if I can prevent the brain damage that causes the magic users to lose their abilities."

"They could help Lina?" Gourry asked as hope lit within him.

"Perhaps. I'm still struggling to get the dosage right."

"Why, what happens if you don't?"

"Well, I lost two patients this week." Releah admitted.

Just like that, the flame of hope extinguished. "Lost…as in they died?"

"Well, yes. But I think I know where I went wrong and that it won't happen again! You see, I made the dosage way too high! I'm thinking I need to hit the target zone between letting them have a small seizure to get it out of their system but not severe enough to have brain damage. I think I have the dosage perfected now, but…I still could be wrong, I guess. I'd say it's fifty-fifty!" Releah said excitedly.

"Fifty-fifty!? Gourry repeated, "You mean…"

"There's a fifty percent chance she could keep her powers, fifty percent that she could die." Releah said manically, "But I'm really thinking her chances are on the right fifty!"

Gourry exhaled. He didn't trust how eager see seemed, nor how blasé she was over losing two patients in the last week. On the one hand he was fairly sure that their odds of defeating Shabranigdo, and the ghost of Shabranigo for that matter, and living to tell the tale were less than fifty-fifty. On the other hand, they had no choice but to fight Shabranigdo. In this case there was a safer option, it just came with a terrible cost.

He looked at Lina and tried to figure out what she would want to do. On the one hand she valued her life and wanted to continue living more than anything. Yet she also loved her powers and being a sorceress. And she was someone who would take risks with her life if it meant acquiring more power, even if he didn't always agree with her that the risk was worth it. Would she see this as an acceptable risk?

Bottom line, how could he make this choice for her. "You said…" he started, and then he took a breath, "You said she won't wake up again until this passes?"

"No," Releah confirmed, "Her fever will get higher and higher and even if she woke up she'd be too groggy to make a decision. Really it's all on you, so what do you say?"

Gourry felt paralyzed as he looked at Lina. What should he say? He knew what choice he would make, he just wasn't sure if Lina would ever forgive him for making it. After a moment, Releah patted him on the arm, "Hey! It's a lot to think about. I'll give you some time. But not too much time. I need to give her the medicine before the seizures start. She probably has about four hours. I'll check back in in three."

"Four hours." Gourry repeated tonelessly.

He heard the door open, and Releah walk out. As it closed behind her he suddenly wished there was someone he could talk to about this, someone to let him know whether or not he was doing the right thing. He wished Lina would wake up and give him her blessing so he could feel better about this. Because regardless of whether or not she would ever forgive him, he would rather have her alive and powerless than dead.

* * *

 **AN: The scene at the beginning is based on a piece of artwork by Rui Araizumi, and if you've seen it you know which one I'm talking about. Brendala once suggested I do a scene based on it when it came out as a back up for a story request thing, but since I did the big request this one just hung around for awhile until the right time came. Amazing how some ideas germinate quickly while others take years.**

 **This one sorta came in a dream when I was trying to think of an idea I've never done before, and I briefly thought about doing the plague thing as a Neverending story arc, but then I decided it would get too dark for Neverending. And so it begins...**


	2. The Choice

Gourry had thought about tracking down some of the sorcerers who had lost their powers to talk to them about what he should do, but the thought of leaving Lina alone when she was so sick and helpless was too much. So he sat by her bed and agonized over the choice ahead of him. Music wafted from the open window outside. There was a festival going on, and the joyful sounds of music and laughter were discordant with the sense of gloom he was feeling.

The world continued as always, indifferent to the pain and indecision he was feeling. He wished they'd not separated from Zelgadis and Amelia. He wished that Lina would miraculously wake up. He wished that someone would come in and tell him what to do. He did not want to have to be the one who made the choice, the one who bore the responsibility for either robbing Lina of her powers or killing her.

Especially since he had no way of divining what she would want him to do.

He walked up to the window to shut it, despite the warmth of the day, but couldn't help but notice the happy couples at the festival. He turned away quickly, but memories of fun times with Lina playing carnival games and eating turkey legs, cotton candy and funnel cake arouse nonetheless. What a wonderful day they could have been having under different circumstances!

As he sat back down, he did so with certainty about what he would have to do, because there was only one option that would guarantee that they would have those fun times again in the future. He held Lina's hand as he said. "I can't do it."

She didn't so much as stir. "I don't know if you can even hear me or not, but I need you to know I can't risk losing you. Especially not with those odds. I don't know if you'll be able to forgive me, but Lina, even if you lose your powers, perhaps there's a way we can get them back?"

He stopped and watched anxiously, scanning her for some sign that she had heard and would give him her blessing, some way to assuage the guilt he was feeling over what she would lose. Instead she lay there motionlessly, and he had to accept the fact that no such assurances would be forthcoming.

"I'll be right beside you. We'll look for a way to get your powers back like we're looking for a new sword for me. And we'll be together, which is what matters. But if you're dead we can't be together. So I can't try the medicine. I'm sorry."

He continued to hold her hand as he sat beside her as the minutes dragged on. At some point he must have dozed off, because soon he found himself jolted awake by a knock at the door. He stood up to answer it as he did, and as he glanced at Lina, who looked unaccustomedly peaceful as she slept, he felt his stomach sink and the surety that he was doing the right thing vanish.

Reluctantly he opened the door. Releah was standing there looking for too chipper. "How's my patient?" She asked as she brushed past him and walked to the bed to check on Lina.

"Same as you left." He managed to say.

Releah nodded as she checked Lina's pulse. "So, you ready to give the medicine a shot?"

Gourry felt as though a colony of butterflies had made a home in his stomach. From here on out his decision would be irreversible. "I can't." he squeaked, "Not when the odds are that bad."

"A shame." Releah said with a tsk, "Oh well. Now we just have to wait for the nasty part with the seizures."

Gourry wanted to mouth off about her lack of bedside manner, but he was too distraught as she started to get her supplies ready. Soon he realized that Releah was approaching the bed, and he looked up and then jumped to his feet when he noticed she had a cup in her hands. "What are you giving her?" he asked.

"Just something to protect her tongue from bruising." Releah explained, "Nothing to worry about it. It's been standard procedure to administer and no one has been harmed by it."

Gourry relaxed a little as Releah coaxed Lina to drink it. She walked away again, and Gourry soon found it was easier to look at the floor than Lina. He felt as though his anxiety would eat him alive. He'd never seen someone have a seizure before, and the way that Releah kept describing it filled him with a sense of dread. He wanted to ask her what to expect, but he couldn't find his voice.

"Now, let's get her on her side." Releah said once she had set her supplies down.

Mechanically Gourry helped Releah roll Lina up to her side, and then he sat back down and slumped forward as Releah started humming to herself as she wrote down some notes on a worn leather bound book.

As the minutes stretched by the anxiety rose such that Gourry started wringing his hands. He wanted Releah to leave. Her bedside manner was enough for him to wish it, but so long as she was there she was an unwelcome temptation. He could change his mind and ask for Lina to have the medication. But then he feared that if he sent Releah away he wouldn't know what to do if Lina's seizure got really bad. The hard truth was he needed Releah. He looked at the healer timidly.

 _She doesn't have to lose her powers._ He reminded himself, _You can still change your mind, and there is a chance she could live and keep her powers._

But one more glance at Lina and he knew that he couldn't bear to lose everything. While he said nothing his mind kept flipping flopping between the choice as the clock ticked away. His sense of time was so warped that he wasn't sure how long he waited until Lina shrieked piercingly before she relaxed bonelessly onto the bed. Gourry's breathing hitched as Releah said solemnly, "It's starting."

As soon as Releah spoke, Lina started twitching rhythmically. Gourry's alarm grew as she started to convulse hard enough that the bed shook beneath her, the legs banging against the floor boards so hard he worried that someone would suspect foul play and come to check on them! Tears fell from his eyes as he thought of what she was losing as he watched helplessly as the shaking seemed to go on forever!

And then it stopped. Gourry was surprised when her eyes shot open as the last of the convulsions died down. She looked around, confusion evident on her face. "What happened?" She asked, her words slurred and heavy, and then she made a face as she realized it was difficult to talk as she wiped the drool from her mouth.

"You were very sick." Releah explained. "I gave you a medicine, it will be a bit difficult to talk until it wears off."

Lina turned on her back as Releah put a hand on her head, "Fever is gone. And you didn't even wet yourself. Good for you! I hate changing bedsheets."

"Huh?" Lina asked, still obviously dazed and confused as Gourry bit his tongue.

"Hey, can you try casting a light spell?" Releah asked.

"Why?" Lina asked irritably.

"Just humor me."

Gourry felt as though he should say something, warn her about what might not happen, but the moment passed him by as she chanted. "Lighting!"

And then she about shot out of bed when nothing happened. "What the…"

"An unfortunate side effect of your illness is the loss of your powers." Releah explained as a look of horror crept upon Lina's face. "So far no magic user has been able to retain them."

"But I can recover, I can get them back!" Lina said as she sat back down.

"So far no one has."

Lina leaned back on the pillows, obviously stunned by the news. "It can't be. There has to be a mistake."

"I hope so." Releah said, and for a moment Gourry feared she would tell Lina that she had wanted to experiment with a way to help her retain her powers but that he had put a stop to it, "Now I'll be on my way, give you some time. Confusion is a side effect of a seizure that should wear off soon enough, and your tongue will start to feel normal again in a few hours. Pretty much you should be out of the woods, but I'll check in tomorrow to be sure."

"Thank you." Gourry managed to say as he stood up and showed Releah out the door.

When he sat down he tried to summon a confident smile. "Hey."

She looked at him, the shock and confusion still evident on her face. "Maybe I didn't cast the light spell right? I feel so strange, I mean even when my powers are at their lowest I can cast a stupid light spell!"

He grabbed her hand. "Do you remember what you said to me after I sent the Sword of Light back home?"

She shook her head, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"That you wouldn't rest until you found me a new sword and would stick with me until I got one. Well, I'm not going to rest until we find a way to get your powers back, and I'm going to stick with you until we do."

She bit her lip, and then reached forward to hug him tightly. He kissed the crown of her head as he held her back. He wanted to tell her he loved her, but he always thought he'd break that news on a happier occasion, one where he was sure she would be ready to hear it. But perhaps now was when she needed to hear it?

Still, he couldn't summon the courage to say it.


	3. The Reveal

_I will not cry_ , Lina told herself as she got dressed. _Because this won't be forever. It's just a temporary setback. Like when Mazenda sealed my powers. There's no way I'm going to live the rest of my life as a normal girl!_

Still. It was hard to look at herself, dressed in the garb of the sorceress, while she had no powers. And she also couldn't hide from the fact that this was different from the time with Mazenda in substantial ways. For one, when Mazenda sealed her powers, Lina had had several avenues to pursue to get them back, avenues that had a good chance of success. And this time while Lina did have an idea in mind, she had to admit to herself, the chances it would succeed were a long shot.

 _What if this is forever?_ She stared at herself as she fought against tears and reflected that the things that had used to make her feel powerful now felt like a lie, like the lifts in her shoes. What good were her gems and talisman if she couldn't cast spells? She'd even tried boosting her powers with the Demon's Blood Talisman. It hadn't done a damn thing. That a boost spell no longer worked was beyond demoralizing. But Lina couldn't let herself think about that!

She had to believe that this wasn't forever, because if she stopped to consider the alternative she felt as though she would suffer a complete mental collapse, and she needed to keep it together! Yet that mere fact that her image in the mirror felt like a fake showed how much of a struggle it was, how it was taking everything she had to keep a positive face on this. Because if she wasn't a sorceress, then who was she?

It wasn't a question she'd ever wanted to explore.

Gourry knocked, and Lina was grateful for the distraction his presence would provide. "Come in." she said as she did her best to sound upbeat and unaffected.

He did, looking concerned as he carried a tray of food in with him, "You're dressed?"

"I'm feeling fine." She said as she did her best to smile.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked as he set the tray on the desk.

"I've been giving that quite a bit of thought, actually." She said as she sat down and forced herself to eat. "I'm thinking, it probably won't do any good to go to Seyruun. Most likely all of the powerful sorcerers who can cast a Resurrection spell have already gotten sick and wouldn't be able to help. But what about a golden dragon? They can perform a stronger level healing spell than humans can. And I've yet to hear of a case of a human transmitting some disease to a golden dragon, so they should be unaffected."

"So you want to find a golden dragon?" he asked.

"And fortunately, we know two golden dragons, Milgasea and Filia."

"Who?"

Lina slumped forward, pushing her lunch off the desk as she did, "Are you acting dense to get my mind off my troubles, or have you really forgotten?"

"Is it working?" he asked.

She shook her head as he said, "So, who do you think we should track down?"

"Well, Milgasea is closer, and it's safer to travel to Dragon's Peak than it is traveling to the Outerworld." Lina mused, "But I don't think he'll help us."

"Why not?" Gourry asked.

"He only helped us the first time because he was scared of Xellos, and the chances of Xellos helping us now are zero. Plus, to get out of the Hellmaster mess I used the Giga Slave."

"Okay, this time I'm serious. Is that the spell that turned you gold?"

"Yes, and the spell that could have destroyed the world if I hadn't cast it correctly. Milgasea will likely think that this is for the best because it means that I won't ever risk casting it again!"

"So that leaves Filia." Gourry said. "The Outerworld. That's going to be quite the trip, especially without magic."

"At least they've established some shipping routes, and we're good on funds right now." Lina said, determined to focus on the positive and not on how much of a long shot it was. Simply put, there was no guarantee that even a healing spell from a golden dragon would help! It all felt like some desperate gamble. "That should save us some time. I want to get there as soon as possible."

"So when are you wanting to leave?" he asked as someone knocked at the door.

They looked at each other as they both stood up. "Who is it?" Lina asked, feeling unaccustomedly nervous. What if some enemy had heard about her loss of powers and decided to take advantage of her in her weakened state?

"It's Releah, coming to check in on my patient."

Lina and Gourry both relaxed a little and Lina chided herself for being so paranoid, "Come in then."

Releah waltzed in, "How are you feeling?"

"Good as always." Lina replied as Releah closed the door behind her and scrutinized her. And Lina hoped that Releah couldn't see how much she was hurting on the inside. "The fever and aches and pains are gone."

"You're looking well." Releah admitted as she got out her journal and wrote some notes down. "Shame you didn't catch this a day later."

"What do you mean?" Lina asked as she wondered if there was anyway that she could feel worse.

Releah clapped her journal shut as she clenched her fist powerfully, "I'm so going to get an award! I found a way to get sorcerers through this illness with their powers in tact!"

"What!?" Lina yelled as she stood up. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I was experimenting with the right level of antiepileptics." Releah explained, "I mean, sure, there were a few times I got things wrong and people died, but I finally got the dose right yesterday and I had my first patient survive with their powers in tact!"

Lina felt as though she'd been punched in the gut as her world narrowed. Her heart raced as she asked, "But why didn't you give me the antiepileptics?"

"Shame about that, really. You could have been my first success, but your partner didn't want to risk it." Releah explained as the room careened dangerously.

"What?" Lina managed to squeak out as she wondered how much longer she could hold it together.

"He said fifty-fifty odds of your survival weren't enough to risk it." Releah said, oblivious to the fireball she had brought to the room. "I can't blame him for not wanting to risk it really. But as they say, no guts no glory."

Lina turned to look at Gourry, who was sweatdropping as he looked at her nervously and tugged at his collar. Something inside of her snapped as she latched onto what she realized she really wanted: someone to blame. Lina pounced as she brought her fist on his head, "You stupid idiot!"

"Lina…"

"What the hell were you thinking?" she asked as she grabbed him by his shirt.

"Um, I think that's my cue to go." Releah said nervously. "About my payment…"

Lina grabbed a roll on the tray and threw it at her. Releah yelped and then ran out the door, and Lina turned on Gourry once more. "How could you!?"

He took a deep breath, "I was trying to protect you. The odds weren't good enough to risk it, and I figured better alive and without your powers than dead."

"You should have risked it!" she said as the anger poured out of her, "Just because something is dangerous…"

"Her last few patients died!" Gourry shot back, the desperation in his voice palpable, "It would have been more than dangerous! She'd not had one success!"

"It paid off for the last one! Someone who wasn't me!" Lina roared.

"I couldn't have known that!" Gourry said, raising the decibel of his voice along with her, "There's nothing about Releah that made me think she knew what she was doing! I had good reasons to believe you wouldn't have survived if we tried it!"

"Sure you didn't. Sure this didn't play right into your hands." Lina yelled.

"What?" Gourry asked, confused.

"So this wasn't your way of making me wife material? I mean hell, running off with that fish family! Don't deny that you aren't wanting to settle down. This wasn't a way to tame me for domesticity, was it?"

"Do you honestly think I'm smart enough to plan something like that?" he asked.

"Well you're too stupid to be believed at times!" Lina lashed out, "What if you've been playing me all this time?"

"I don't think you know what you're saying!" Gourry said, "You don't know how terrified I was that you would die! You don't know what it was like to make this decision!"

"Oh, keep telling yourself that, keep telling yourself that you did this for my own good!" Lina spat back, "You don't know what it's like to lose your powers! So tell it to yourself far away from me!"

Gourry took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, "I'll give you some time."

"There's not enough time you can give me!" she yelled back, "I don't want to ever see you again!"

He froze, "What?"

"You stupid idiot! How could you have not even tried to keep my powers in tact?" she asked as she struggled against the tears and the sense of betrayal.

He looked winded, "Because I wanted you alive more than anything."

She bit her lip, "Get out. I'll get them back myself, it will be so much easier without your idiocy."

He took a deep breath, "I'll give you some time. I'll be right next door. I'll be here, if you change your mind once you've calmed down."

"I won't." Lina said darkly as she sat down on the bed. She somehow managed to keep it together until the door closed behind him before she stopped fighting against the tears.

* * *

 **AN: Yeah, this took me awhile because I didn't want to write that last scene, and hopefully with that roadblock out of the way I will be more diligent with this one. Anyway, I guess I'm leaving ya'll with a lot of cliff hangers this week! Good news is I'm taking off the week for the Thanksgiving holidays so I'll have a lot of writing time, bad news is I'm going to a cabin at the lake so I can hide from the world and I'm not sure what my internet connection will be like, so perhaps I'll have internet, perhaps I won't. Anyway, till next time!**


	4. Together

Lina checked out, feeling completely sad and disillusioned about everything. Of course if she was still with Gourry he would be hovering, wondering if she was well enough to travel so soon after being so sick, but she knew she had to focus on getting to the Outerworld as fast as possible and staying out of trouble for once, both of which seemed Herculean tasks.

And if she was honest with herself, it would be much harder to do alone. Anger surged through her again as she thought of the missed opportunity to get her powers back, and once more it seemed clear to her that the task ahead would be much easier without her dimwitted companion, even if the truth did tear her apart.

She wavered, and then moved forward.

She raced through the town, not paying much attention to the buildings, merely desperate to get away from the place where she had lost her magic and that much closer to the Outerworld. At first she was annoyed when she found that her path was blocked by a group of men who weren't clearing the way, but when she looked up to see why they weren't moving she realized that she had already encountered trouble. Bandits. "Lina Inverse!"

"I'm not in the mood." She said. What was even more startling was that she wasn't even in the mood to investigate what bandits were doing in the middle of a big city in broad daylight. Nor how they had managed to track her down so quickly.

"Tough. You've caused a lot of trouble for us. And word is that you caught the bug going around."

Lina internally groaned and reached for her sword. She hoped that they were your standard run of the mill bandits. If they were she was confident that she would be able to take them down, but if not…then she was in trouble. While she knew she was going to eventually have to confront someone without her magic, she hadn't wanted to be tested so early while she was still reeling from the blow.

Still, she couldn't avoid the fight. She quickly surveyed her surroundings to look for anything that could give her an advantage as she turned around and ran to give herself some space. Eventually she found what she was looking for, a narrow alley where only one person could charge at her at a time. Lina raced towards it, but as she did a woman holding a sword with a purplish tint came out of the alley, her face stuck in a nasty smirk.

"Perfect timing, Zenobia!" one of the bandits yelled as they started to catch up to her.

For a brief moment Lina debated between the idea finishing Zenobia off quickly and hopefully still having enough time to get into the alley versus continuing to run until she found another alley. She decided to run, but quickly found herself blocked by the woman, who seemed to move impossibly fast, and that was when it sunk in that whoever this woman was, she was not your run of the mill bandit. In fact, Lina was starting to fear that she was a swordswoman on par with Gourry's level of skill.

Lina raised her sword defensively and moved to block Zenobia's blow, yet Zenobia's sword cut through Lina's as though it was butter! Lina cried out as she somehow managed to dodge and move backwards to avoid the strike. Behind her someone else had joined the arena, and she recognized his presence. "Need a hand?" Gourry asked.

"Need a bit more than that." Lina said as she threw the hilt of her sword at Zenobia, but she cut it apart effortlessly. But at least Gourry could keep the other bandits off her back while she dealt with her!

"What sort of sword do you have there?" Lina asked.

"Mind your own business!" Zenobia said as Lina ran to get some distance. She could see that Gourry was quickly dispensing with the rest of the bandits, but as soon as he was done he would face the same problem she did: how to take on an enemy with a ridiculously sharp sword.

Lina's eyes lighted on a wheelbarrow filled with stones and she ran to it and grabbed them and started pelting Zenobia with them. Unfortunately Zenobia was not a mere third rate swordswoman with an impressive sword. She effortlessly cut through the stones that Lina threw at her, her sword moving too fast to be believed. Still, at least pelting her with rocks halted her advance!

From behind Zenobia Lina saw Gourry approach, and Lina started to hope that he wouldn't do the noble, chivalrous thing of letting his enemy know that he was about to attack _. Please, you chivalry blinded idiot, please just attack her from the back and don't give her any warning! Please!_

"Hey you!" Gourry yelled.

 _Dammit!_

"Gourry! That sword is super sharp and cut through my short sword like it was butter!" Lina warned.

"What?" he asked, but then he watched as Zenobia's sword sliced through the stones Lina was throwing. "Wow."

Zenobia lunged at Gourry, who retreated out of her reach as her sword came down upon where he had been. Lina threw another volley of stones at her from behind and somehow she spun and managed to slice through them as she pivoted to face Gourry who was charging at her. He dodged as Lina reached into the wheelbarrow again and her hands clenched a fistful of pulverized rock and dirt. It would do! Lina grabbed it and ran up, "Hey Zenobia!"

Zenobia turned to face her and Lina threw it in her eyes. "Cut through this!"

Zenobia cried out as she put one hand over her eyes before she turned and started to flee. "Next time!"

Lina took a deep breath. "We need to get that sword!"

"She's already gone." Gourry pointed out, and Lina's irritation over his caution flared, "And we're still finding our footing."

Lina bit her lip as she rounded on him, "If you'd just attacked her while her back was turned then we could have had that sword and at least one of us would be…"

She couldn't finish the sentence. Once they had taken down the Dark Lord of all Dark Lords. Now it was all they could do to take on a handful of bandits and one decent swordswoman with a super powerful sword. But if they could get that sword…

And then she thought about how she was thinking. They. Us. We. As opposed to I and me.

He looked at her cautiously, "I think we should get out of this town before they regroup. By the time we get to the next town it should be dinner time. We can get something to eat. That is, if you've changed your mind."

Lina suddenly realized she was at risk for breaking down into tears in the middle of the town. Since he had returned the Sword of Light to its home he had been rather useless, and now she was in similar straights. And it seemed that just as when they were strong and powerful they needed each other, now that they were weak they would still need each other if they were ever going to regain their strength. And even if he was a frustratingly cautious and chivalrous, she couldn't escape the fact that so far they had made it out alive.

"Say we partner up again. What will we do?"

"Well, weren't you wanting to track down Filia?" he asked, "Get your powers back? Isn't that still the plan?"

Lina ran forward and threw her arms around him as she buried her face in his chest to hide the tears Unfortunately his armor got in the way and felt cold against her skin, "I don't know why I said those things earlier!"

"You've had a rather bad few days." He said as he rubbed her back, and though she wasn't looking at him she could feel the relief in his voice. "Come on, let's get out of this town before more people come after us."

Lina gave him a final squeeze, "Right." She said. And then, together, they headed out of town.

* * *

 **AN: You know, as much as I love Filia and identify with her...I hardly ever write her in anything. I can only think of two times I did. So excited that I'm going to be able to lasso her into this one!**


	5. The Storm

"Well, you can never say I never brought you to the beach." Gourry said as they walked along the harbor.

"Hm," Lina said noncommittally.

"We could pick up some ice cream before we leave. Remember how they had none in the Outerworld the last time we were there?" he said, "Or I bet we could get some very fresh fish!"

She continued to stare at the ground as she said in a lifeless fashion, "I just want to get on board and get my powers back as soon as possible. We can gorge ourselves after words."

"Okay." He said, "At least we were close to the coast and didn't have far to travel. And the _Freedom_ looks like a solid vessel."

"Hopefully we will have better luck on that than we had on other ships we've been passengers on." Lina grumbled as she reflected that she was getting sick of his relentless sunny optimism.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, do I really have to remind you?" Lina asked.

"Er…" he said as he sweatdropped, and Lina wondered why she spent so much time with someone so idiotic.

"Well, first there was the time Amelia and I dressed you as a girl and Volun spent so much time making moon eyes at you that he completely missed his mark when the dragon attacked!"

Gourry turned blue as he shuddered, "I may have purposefully forgot that one!"

"Then there was the first time we went to the Outerworld and we nearly starved to death."

"Now that you mention it, I've never felt full since that happened!"

"And then there was the time that Zuuma attacked us."

"Oh. Wow. Now that I think of it, we don't have good luck with ships!"

"Exactly!" Lina said, "And now we don't have any magic to help us should we get into rough waters!"

"Well," Gourry said as they reached where the _Freedom_ was docked and they could discern an older, distinguished looking dark skinned man walking around the ship. While he was missing an arm he appeared confident and brave. "The captain looks solid and capable at least."

Lina started to board, and the man stopped them. "Boarding passes?" he asked.

Lina got out the passes they had purchased at the dock and he took them, "I'll show you to your room."

"Are you the captain?" Lina asked.

"No, I'm her husband." He said.

"Husband?" Lina repeated, surprised.

"Yes, my name is Zachariah. My wife, Captain Granya Doyle is over there." He said, and he indicated an older woman whose skin was tanned and leathery and who was tall and sinewy who was scrutinizing a map.

Lina's eyebrows about hit her hairline. Granya stopped for a moment and acknowledged them with a nod, but she seemed rather busy, so Lina followed Zachariah below decks. "I don't think I've ever seen a woman captain."

"Granya is one of a kind." He said as they reached the belly of the ship.

"Is she a sorceress?"

"Nah, she's just that tough." Zachariah said fondly as he opened a wooden plank that barely served as a door, "Here you are."

"Thanks." Lina said as she surveyed their quarters. They were definitely smaller and less nice than the rooms they had had on the ship when Zuuma had attacked. In fact, it was so small that the two hammocks for her and Gourry barely fit into it! While it would be a bit claustrophobic, it was good that Gourry would be close by. Safety in numbers.

"I'll let you get settled." Zachariah said.

"Thanks." Gourry replied.

Gourry set his stuff in one corner, Lina in another. "So, what now?" Gourry asked.

Suddenly Lina heard Granya shouting. "You have a lot of guts showing your face around here!"

Lina walked over to the portal, and Gourry joined her, and Lina felt her heart race when she saw Zenobia standing on the dock. "I have business with one of your passengers!"

"I don't care!" Granya yelled back, "These people paid me to take them safely to the Outerworld, and that's exactly what I intend to do! While they are on my ship they are under my protection!"

Lina and Gourry raced back above deck as Granya and Zenobia continued to yell at each other. When they got there, Zenobia had unsheathed her sword, and Granya laughed as she held up her torch and patted the cannon in front of her, "Don't. I have this cannon trained on you, and even if you slice that ball, my frigates have you marked. You'd best turn around and climb back into whatever hole your crawled out of!"

Zenobia growled, but turned around. Lina relaxed a little as she left, and then looked at Granya, who put the torch up as she grinned at them. "Well, you can always judge a person by the quality of their enemies. Who are you?"

"Lina Inverse." Lina replied, "This is Gourry."

"Well, well." Granya said. "You must have lost your powers."

"Huh?" Lina said as she reddened. Was it so obvious that people could tell just by looking at her?

"I heard about the illness that's striking magic users." Granya explained as she grabbed some rope and started walking, and Lina and Gourry followed her, "Years ago, when Zach lost his sword arm, he had that same look in his eyes you do now. It's a pity."

"I'm going to get my powers back!" Lina said.

"I like your determination." Granya said.

"What do you know about Zenobia?"

"She's the worse kind of thief." Granya said distastefully. "She targets accomplished women, and she believes that if she defeats them in battle then she can lay claim to their accomplishments as her own. I guess she reckons that if she takes you down she'll brag about how she defeated the slayer of Shabranigdo, thus implying that she could do it herself."

"That's crazy!" Lina exclaimed

"That's messed up!" Gourry said. "What do you know about the sword that she has?"

"Not much." Granya said, "Other than that I've never seen a blade so sharp. Lucky for me I seldom set foot on land and am always surrounded by cannons. Thus far I've flummoxed her attempts to get to me and steal my accomplishments."

"Well, keep it up." Lina said, "It certainly looks as though you have accomplished a lot. I've never seen a female captain before."

"I inherited my father's fleet." Granya explained, "I was better suited to it than my brother. You either have the love of the sea or you don't, and he didn't. But me? Well, every time my daddy would leave I would sneak onto the ship and wouldn't come out until we were far from shore and it was too late to turn round. My daddy figured if I was there he might as well put me to work and I picked it up real well. Next thing you know he didn't even bother with trying to leave me on shore. If I wanted to be with the sea so badly he wasn't going to stop me.

"Anyway, much as I'd like to stay and chat, we'd best disembark soon."

"Right." Lina said. "We'll get out of your hair."

Lina walked beside Gourry back below deck. "Well, she seems rather capable. I don't think we'll have anything to worry about." He said.

Lina's hand clenched into a fist as she bopped him on the head, "Don't go jinxing us this early in the voyage!"

* * *

At the end of the night Lina had climbed into her hammock and was soon lulled to sleep by the rhythmic motions of the rocking ship, and she had been sleeping rather well until it lurched violently. Her eyes shot open but she couldn't see much in the dark. The portal let in very little illumination. And she couldn't even cast a basic light spell!

For a brief moment a flash of lightning illuminated their room as the ship continued to rock back and forth violently, and then there were cries from above. "Batten down the hatches!"

The ship lurched again, throwing Lina off her hammock and a loud crack of thunder sounded, and then ship lurched in the other direction and Lina found herself sliding to the wall, and then pinned against it by Gourry. "Ugh! You're heavy, get off me!"

"Sorry!" he said as the ship swayed in the other direction, and Lina tried to find something to grab to prevent herself from being thrown around the room like a rag doll. Given that the room was so small, Gourry with his long legs was able to wedge himself in as he sat parallel with the wall where the door was. Lina managed to sit beside him even if her feet didn't quite reach the wall, and he wrapped an arm around her as, to her dismay, the ship started creaking as though it would burst under the pressure.

The wind howled ominously as from above Lina could hear Granya giving orders. Lina tried to take a deep breath. Was it her imagination, or was there not enough air?

"A storm." Gourry said.

"You think!?" Lina snapped as she put her hand over her stomach, and suddenly she was scared she was going to throw up. A wave crashed against the outer wall and some water spilled through the planks and splashed onto them. The shock of the cold water caused Lina to stiffen. In the poor light she couldn't see if it was just a small spill or a sign that the ship was breeched! Would the wall hold? Would they soon be flooded?

Terror gripped her as she remembered that she couldn't cast Ray Wing! If the ship crashed she wouldn't be able to use magic to save them! She couldn't even cast a light spell to give them a bit of illumination as they waited out the storm! They were in danger and there was nothing that she could do about it other than wait it out and trust in someone else!

"I guess we'd better stay down here." Gourry said.

Lina broke into a sweat, "We can't, there's not enough air!"

"Huh?" he said.

Lina shook her head as the walls seemed to close in on her, "We can't be trapped here! We'll die!"

"What?" he said, obviously thrown by how she was responding to this.

Lina tried to take a deep breath, but her lungs didn't seem to fill. She inhaled again to try to take in more air, but it felt worse! "I could always Ray Wing away before! But when the ship breaks apart we're going to go down in it!"

"That's not going to happen!" he said, "We have a good captain!"

"I have to go above deck! There's no air here!" Lina said as she stood up, but was knocked off her feet as the ship swayed again. She landed roughly against Gourry, who grabbed hold of her.

"We're passengers! We need to stay here!"

"I can't!" Lina said as the panic rose within her and she struggled against him, "We have to do something! We're going to die if we stay down here!"

"We're not!" he said as he held onto her. "Just like we didn't die when the dragon attacked and you had me in that ridiculous get up! What sort of outfit did you have me in anyway?"

"Huh?" Lina asked as she stopped struggling.

"Well, what color was it?"

"Pink, you idiot!" Lina yelled.

The ship swayed again, and Lina looked around nervously as Gourry said, "Man, it must have been hard finding a dress big enough for me!"

Lina chuckled nervously as she started to relax against him as she remembered the dressmaker's face when she gave her Gourry's measurements, "Well, I did pay a little extra to have yours custom made. It was worth it!"

"However did you force me into that getup?" he asked as the waves seemed to die down and he hoped they were moving away from the storm.

"I told you there was a fireball with your name on it." Lina said.

"Yeah, that would do it." Gourry said. "I'm still horrified I made such a convincing woman."

"Oh, I never doubted for a second that the guys would be falling all over you!" Lina replied. "I even made a bet with Amelia."

"You what?"

Lina nodded, "And I collected!"

"I'll just forget I learned that." He muttered as the ship lurched again, but not as strongly as before, and he quickly asked, "Whose idea was it to put my hair in those little pigtail buns?"

Lina managed to laugh a little, "Both Amelia and mine's? I'm not sure really. They did look so cute on you!"

The wind died down, and the tension seemed to leave the room. From above they could hear someone yell, "All clear!"

"Looks like it's over." Gourry commented.

"And we survived." Lina said, suddenly feeling a bit foolish as she moved off him. "Damn, how have you lived without magic all these years without losing your mind? I can't use my powers at all for two days and I feel like I'm losing my grip!"

"Well, this is the way it's always been for me." Gourry said as he stood up and offered her a hand, which she took.

She stood up and then walked over to the portal and relaxed. "Calm seas."

"Thank goodness." Gourry said as he used the dim light to get back into his hammock. Lina went and got into hers, feeling utterly exhausted.

"I'll say one thing, Gourry. You're braver than I ever gave you credit for."

"Thanks." He said.

She was quiet for a moment, and then she added, "And smarter than I give you credit for."

He tutted, "Don't go fooling yourself."

"You distracted me…"

"Animal instinct." Gourry said modestly. "Night, Lina."

She stared across the dark in his direction and felt a mix of emotions. In some ways he was so perfect for her. Not many people would have kept a cool head while being able to help her calm down. And he was good at keeping her safe and alive. But in other ways, he was so wrong. He got on her nerves, he often played things too safely, and he could say thoughtless, ridiculous and sometimes hurtful things and half of the time she felt as though if a Mazoku didn't kill him then she would. Yet, at the end of the day, she couldn't fathom being without him, and at this point she wasn't sure if either of them could survive anymore without the other.

She reached out and found his face and stroked it for a moment. "Lina?" he asked.

"Night." She said, resolved as ever to figure it out tomorrow.

* * *

 **AN: Granya is the Anglicized form of the Irish,** **Gráinne. Much as I value my Irish roots, Gaelic phonetics just don't make any sense. Granya from Gráinne makes more sense and I can sort of see it, there are others, such as Eefa from Aoife, that are complete headscratchers. Anyway, I decided to go for ease of pronunciation than spelling but also felt the need to comment as the name is not that common, though people familiar with historical female pirates will be able to peg the origins.**


	6. Cabin Fever

Lina watched as the ship parted the water, thoroughly mesmerized by the deep cobalt blue of the ocean. She thought about how strange it was that something that had swallowed so many seafarer's whole could also be so beautiful as the sea spray misted her face, and her hands grasped the taffrail and the fear bubbled through her once more, followed by embarrassment, especially when she thought of how she had broken down the previous night.

The last time she had felt so weak and useless was when Mazenda had sealed her powers. And, she reminded herself, she had survived and thrived. And then the realization bubbled for her that while her odds of getting her powers back when Mazenda sealed them were likely stronger than they were now, she had also been pursued by Gaav's minions and the threat to her life at the time had been greater. And while Zenobia was bad, she wasn't at their level.

 _I guess I'll be grateful for every advantage I have,_ Lina mused to herself as she felt marginally better about her odds. Marginally.

"Lovely day." Granya said as she came up behind her, and Lina nearly cried out. The sounds of the sea were just loud enough that Lina hadn't heard her approach!

"It is." Lina finally agreed once she had regained her composure and she started to think about how Granya loved this so much and how she managed to cross the sea so often even though she wasn't able to Ray Wing away should an emergency happen. She looked at the sword on Granya's hip, as well as the gun in its holster. "Are you from the Outerworld?"

"Yes," Granya said, "Though that's not what we call it there."

Lina thought about Jillas with his bombs, and her mind started racing as she thought of ways to defeat Zenobia. But then anything involving gunpowder seemed so inconsistent and tricky, and the thought of being a novice at something again when she had been _the_ expert for so long was frankly discouraging. Besides, Zenobia could probably cut bullets and bombs with that sword of hers (if they only had that sword!) and it wasn't as though Lina could tug a load of cannons with her everywhere she went.

"What do you call it then?"

"All depends on where you're from." Granya said. "I'm from Hibernia."

"What did you call our lands?"

"The western lands." She said as she grabbed the taffrail. "Of course before the barrier was gone we had all sorts of stories about what was here. And after it was gone, between the Desert of Destruction and the rough waters, no one wanted to come here until your people made contact."

"Wow, if it was that dangerous, what made you decide to risk it?"

"And miss the chance to establish new trading routes and be among the first to make ties and commerce?" she asked with a rhetorical, vibrant smile.

Lina shook her head and reflected that she was once rather similar. How could she recapture that person that she had been? "Since losing my magic, I don't see how you do anything brave without it."

"Well, where I'm from no one can perform anything more extravagant than a light spell. So we grew up doing without."

"I know that makes sense." Lina said. "And it's not like I'm completely helpless. I'm good with a sword, but it's not going to help with the things that I typically fight. I'm at a loss for how to beat Zenobia."

"Oh, you'll find a way, of that I'm sure."

"What makes you so sure?" Lina asked.

"Because someone like Zenobia never takes a risk. She plays it safe. You? You'll take the risks. That gives you an advantage, even if she has some fancy schmancy sword."

Zachariah came over and asked, "We're about an hour from port."

"I am aware, but thank you." She said curtly.

As he walked away, Lina asked, "Port? Surely it couldn't have been that fast!"

Granya chuckled, "No, this is the last stop before we reach the Desert of Destruction. We have to load up on supplies and ensure that the ship is in the best condition possible before setting out for such a treacherous stretch."

"Oh," Lina said as her eyes widened a little and Granya put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. No harm shall come to you so long as you stay on this ship."

"Right." Lina said as she blushed as she remembered her panic attack that, thankfully, only Gourry knew about. And at least the idiot could keep a secret. Still, that Granya felt the need to comfort her like a timid child was humiliating. The desire to have some challenge pop up so she could prove herself welled within her.

To change the subject Lina asked, "So, how long have you and Zachariah been together?"

"Twenty-eight years, give or take." She said.

"Wow." Lina said as she tightened her fists, "How did you know?"

"Know?"

"Know that you could live with him for twenty-eight years?"

Granya laughed as she ran a hand through her hair, "I didn't! Believe me, I've nearly kicked his ass to shore more times than I can count! But somehow we always end up making it work."

"That's not very encouraging." Lina said.

"It's life." Granya said, "It's not like the stories where your eyes meet, your souls connect and you just know you've met your soul mate type bullshit. It's not easy to live happily ever after. If you want to be with him for twenty-eight years or longer, you'll have to put in the work."

"Work?" Lina echoed.

"Tackling whatever troubles happen rather than avoiding them to keep the peace for one."

"Oh, I can do that," Lina said with a laugh.

"And understanding that you can't have someone at their best if you can't hold their hand when they're at their worst." Granya added.

Lina sighed, "That's the catch, isn't it? That's where it gets hard. I can't imagine a life without Gourry now. Yet he also annoys me so much at times that I think I'd rather kill him than hold hands with him when he's at his worst or whatever. But all the same, when push comes to shove, there I am casting a Giga Slave for the idiot, you know?"

"What's a Giga Slave?" Granya asked.

Lina blushed a little, "Um, well, it's a spell that if I didn't cast correctly could have destroyed the world. Someone told me if I didn't cast it they would kill Gourry."

"So you cast it?" Granya said as she stepped back a little from Lina, "Damn, I didn't realize you sorceresses could do something like that! Perhaps it's best that you're neutered!"

"What did you say!?" Lina yelled.

"Look," Granya said as she held her hands up, "All I'm saying is that, if you're willing to destroy the world for him, then perhaps you should just go ahead and put in the hard work of living with him and making a relationship work."

"Oh," Lina said, "I'd never thought of it that way."

"Obviously," Granya said, "Anyway, I've got to get back to work."

"Right," Lina said, "Good talking to you."

Granya nodded curtly, and then walked away, and as she did Lina wondered if perhaps she'd rattled her a little by telling her about the Giga Slave. And then she smiled. Perhaps, even without her powers, she could still be terrifying.

* * *

Lina had thought of waiting below deck. But the desire to prove that she wasn't going to let fear be the boss of her was strong at the moment, and hiding below deck like a coward should Zenobia return was not an option. In short, Lina wasn't moving. Gourry came up and stood beside her, and together they quietly watched as the ship was docked.

"It's rather pretty here." Gourry commented. And he was right. It was a beautiful cliffside town, with homes carved into the rugged sandstone that dominated the scenery.

"Isn't it? I'd love to explore it! Think it may be worth getting a good meal at a restaurant before we leave?" Lina asked she watched as Granya and several other crewmen disembarked.

"Well, it's like Granya keeps saying, she can only guarantee your safety here, right?" Gourry said.

Lina huffed, "Oh, come on! Things aren't so bad that getting a meal here would be too dangerous."

"Well, if you insist I won't stop you." Gourry said, "But I'd rather not."

Lina leaned against the taffrail and groaned, "Oh but if we do you would be a nervous wreck and watching your back constantly and it'd be no fun!"

"Sorry." He said, and Lina could sense how he tensed.

 _Hold his hand at his worst._ Lina mused to herself. As if this was even his worst! With a sigh she grabbed his hand, and he looked at her in surprise. "Much as it annoys me, I know it's because you care." She admitted.

He stared at their hands in shock, and for a moment she wondered why he was so stunned as she waited for his next move. "Lina," he said slowly, "You're holding my hand!"

"So?" She asked, "I've done that before."

"Yeah, but never when other people were watching!"

Lina reddened a little, but before she could pull away he squeezed her hand gently and put his free hand on her forehead, "That fever didn't kill your shyness, did it?"

Steam seemed to issue from Lina's ears as his joke drew blood. How someone who was so good at helping her feel better when she was upset was also the same person who could hit her where it hurt with a stray, stupid comment was a dichotomy she could never understand. "What did you…?"

"I'm not complaining." Gourry said as he reached a hand out to stroke her cheek, "I rather like this."

"You have a funny way of showing it!" Lina yelled as she pulled back, "You have a helluva way of killing the mood! You should be more romantic! Tell me that you would risk a thousand deaths just to have dinner with me! Not shower me with a tasteless joke!"

Lina turned away from him and stared at the dock as Gourry said, "I was just trying to get you to laugh, you know. With everything you've been going through a bit of laughter helps, doesn't it?"

But Lina reached back and held her hand to his face, "Hush."

"What?" he asked.

"There's something going on down there." She said quietly, and he turned to look where she was.

There was a crowd of workers on the dock, listening as someone who exuded authority spoke, "The family is asking for anyone we can spare to go down and help, so until the kids are found, you have our permission to join the search parties..."

Lina's eyes narrowed as Granya walked back to the ship, her face bunched in displeasure. "What's going on?" Lina asked her as she boarded.

"Some kids went missing." Granya explained gruffly. "Everyone is organizing a search party. And, of course, one of the kids has a wealthy parent who is offering a reward for his safe return, more than enough to pay what they make in a month. Damn, so much for getting in and out of here quickly."

Lina's eyes widened, "A reward?"

"Lina, you can't be serious!?" Gourry said.

"Come on, Gourry!" Lina said as her mind started racing. Finding the kids would be exactly what she needed to feel strong and confidant again, and get some money to boot! "This is easily something we could handle, even with my situation!"

"And what if Zenobia attacks again?" Gourry countered.

"Well, we'll have to deal with her sooner or later!" Lina said even as she did feel a small measure of panic at the idea. But damned if she was going to break down in fear like she had last night!

"And what if someone gets hurt while we're fighting her? Or we end up causing such a commotion that we end up hurting the effort to find the kids because we're fighting her?" Gourry pointed out. "It'd be selfish of us."

Lina moaned as she thought of the sheer path of chaos and destruction that tended to follow their fights. He had a good pointed, and she hated it when Gourry had a good point. Granya added, "It's none of my business but like I said before. I can guarantee your safety on this ship, but not off it."

"We're still finding our footing, Lina." Gourry said.

"Fine," Lina huffed as she folded her arms across herself, as if doing so would contain the antsy person inside who was desperate to do whatever she could to prove that she was still strong, "We'll sit this one out."

* * *

Time passed slowly. For one thing, since most of the dockworkers were looking for the lost children, there weren't as many people to load the ship. For another, Lina was desperate to be in the Outerworld, and sitting around waiting without her powers was agony. Being on the move was tolerable. Staying still was not. Further, since most of the crew was busy working, there wasn't much to distract her. Sure, she could play cards with Gourry, but she was irritated with him.

The moon started to rise in the sky as the sun set, and as she watched its reflection in the water she couldn't deny the romance of the place she was in. If only the circumstances were different. Perhaps if she were with a different person it could still be fanciful. But she wasn't. She was with Gourry, who was more concerned with ridiculous jokes and safety than romance.

 _Why do I put up with him again?_ Lina thought pityingly as a roar of voices interrupted her thoughts, and in the distance Lina could see torches as the workers returned to the docks. Someone from one of the other ships called out, "Is there news?"

"They were found." Was the reply.

"Alive?"

"No," the man said mournfully, and Lina felt herself grow cold as he continued, "They were found in the ravines. Looks like there was a landslide."

"The bodies were still warm and limp." Another added, "If we'd been just a few minutes earlier…"

Lina felt an ice lance go through her, and she pounded the taffrail with her fists as she swore. "It wasn't your fault, you know." Gourry said as he came up behind her.

She glared at him and as she stormed off and hoped that she could reach her cabin before she broke down she yelled, "I used to take down Shabranigdo! Now I can't even try to save a few kids. I can't even try!"

"Lina…" he said as he followed her.

"I'm done with playing it safe, Gourry!" she said, "The cost of sitting it out, it isn't worth it. No matter what you say. I'm not Lina Inverse if I'm not taking risks!"

* * *

 **AN: Yeah, finally made some progress with this and have a path ahead! In the winter I deal with Seasonal Affective Disorder, and for whatever reason this fic was like a magnet for the SAD negativity and I had to take a break from it. I'd hoped waiting till the spring to try with this one again would help, and it has. Thanks for those of you who were very supportive with my earlier efforts with this one, I hope to get more consistent with updating it now that the blocks are gone!**


	7. The Gift

It was good to be moving again. The wind whipped through Lina's hair, and she took a deep breath and told herself that the wind filling her lungs hailed from the lands where she would regain her powers. Thus fortified with hope and optimism, she turned to survey the happenings on the ship, and her eyes fell on Zachariah as he was busy tying knots. For awhile she wasn't sure why he had caught her attention, and then it hit her. He only had one hand! But he made working with only one seem so natural that she hadn't noticed the deficiency. Her jaw fell a little as she observed him, but then he looked in her direction and she turned away least she get caught staring.

"What's that?" Gourry asked, and Lina turned to see him standing by the foremast as he stared out into the ocean. She moved beside him and peered out and quickly spotted what he had spied. There was a fin poking out from the water that was speeding rapidly in their direction.

"Is that a shark?" Lina asked as she squinted, and then she walked forward to the taffrail to get a better look, but it was useless trying to figure out what it looked like beneath the surface.

"The shape isn't right." Gourry said as he came up behind her, and given his superior eyesight, she decided she would just have to take his word on it.

Something about how it was making a bee line straight for the ship disturbed Lina even as she said, "But it's not like it can attack us or anything? It'll eventually move out of the way?"

But then several more fins popped out of the water, making a triangular formation with the first one, and Lina and Gourry both stood up a bit straighter. "What the…?"

And then one of the fins rose from the ocean, and Lina gagged as she had just enough time to register that it was a detestable fishman right before he charged at the ship.

"Load the cannons!" Granya yelled. But it was too late.

The fishman chanted some sort of spell right before he hit the ship. The resultant crash sounded loud enough to hurt their ears, and Lina and Gourry grabbed the taffrail as the ship rocked under the impact. And then more impacts followed, and Lina deduced that the other fishman had followed suit. Lina closed her eyes as she held on tight, only it seemed to get harder to keep her footing. Was it her imagination, or was the ship starting to tilt?

She opened her eyes and cried out as she saw that there was now a ragged gash in the ship! The forward part she and Gourry occupied had been completely severed from the rest of it! She grasped the taffrail tightly as they started to take in water, the knowledge that they didn't have much time before they sank rising, along with her panic. Should they try to jump to the other side? One quick look showed that the other half was in similar straights, but the people there were scrambling to the one life boat.

Lina's mind worked frantically. Even if they made it, the climb to the lifeboat would be steep. Gourry called out to them, and he was already crouching as if ready to jump to the other side. Already most of the crew had gotten on the lifeboat, and then Lina was shocked as Granya got on board and looked at them but shook her head before she apparently gave the order to lower the boat. But why? Why wouldn't they be willing to wait for them? And then it hit her. They didn't have the time! She looked into the ocean and took a deep breath, "We have to jump into the ocean and swim as fast as we can!"

"In the ocean?" Gourry shot back, his tone implying she had lost it. "The fishpeople are in there!"

"You have to trust me." Lina said as she climbed over the taffrail and took a deep breath. She didn't have time to explain to Gourry about suction and the potential of the ship to suck everything in the vicinity to the bottom of the ocean with it as it went down. They had to spend every second they could getting as far away as possible, and allowing the lifeboat to get as far away as possible. Hopefully they could meet up later. That was, if she and Gourry could survive the attack that would surely follow in the fishman infected waters.

Lina jumped. She didn't have to look to see if Gourry was following her. She hit the water harder than she'd anticipated and as soon as her head broke through the surface she took in the biggest breath she could with her bruised lungs before she started swimming as fast as she could away from the ship. Thankfully the water was warm and pleasant. Still, she feared that any minute a fishman would grab her and pull her under. But they strangely the moment never came. Lina swam until her arms started to ache, and she risked looking over her shoulder. But she couldn't see the ship anymore, or the lifeboat for that matter. Gourry, thankfully, came into view and looked at her. "I think land is this way." He said.

Lina nodded, and decided to trust his instincts. It wasn't as if she would do a convenient fly by and get a lay of the area. Hell, a month ago she could have Ray Winged to the lifeboat no problem! But now because of that stupid fever and because stupid Gourry was unwilling to take a risk she had to do this the hard and dangerous way! The anger coursed through her body, providing strength for her to draw from with each stroke until she finally lifted her hand from the water and saw land ahead. Finally! She could rest and plot out their next move!

The water grew warmer as they got closer to the shore, and at first Lina thought it was because the sun was rising higher in the sky. But then she started to notice some things that alarmed her. Such as the steam that rose from where the shore met the ocean. Was this the Desert of Destruction? Generally places with ominous sounding names were disappointing when she visited. Lina wondered if this would be the exception she didn't want it to be as she got even closer and her eyes widened as she saw streams of molten sand moving along islands of rugged rock. A less hospital beach she could scarcely imagine! One thing she was sure of was that Granya had better be looking for them. There was no way they would survive here for long!

Lina's hand hit sand as the water became shallow, and as she dragged her hand through it she found it was at the border of being too hot to touch! She stopped as Gourry pulled up beside her and she wondered how cool the rocks were and if they would even be able to set foot comfortably on the shore. But then Gourry said ominously, "We have company."

Lina looked at where he was staring and groaned. Zenobia was standing on a rocky outcrop, her sword drawn, looking at her mercilessly. Well, the sudden arrival and withdrawal of the fishpeople suddenly made sense. Zenobia would brave the stench to get her cornered after all. All Lina wanted to do was pause and catch her breath, but she doubted Zenobia would give her that luxury. Beside her Gourry had already gotten to his feet. Lina rose, keeping her eyes on Zenobia as she worked to summon the anger that had propelled her thus far through this final mile. She knew that she would have to end it with Zenobia today, no matter what it took. Anyone who would sink ships to fight her was not someone she could allow to pursue her relentlessly.

Lina took a deep breath and readied herself. The problem was that Zenobia's sword was so sharp that there was no way they could really defend themselves against it. So Lina had given a lot of thought over how to defeat her. And the only way forward that Lina could think of would not be fun or pretty. Lina took a step forward, the sand heating her boots uncomfortably. Still, she kept moving forward as she navigated a path to where Zenobia was.

Lina noted that Zenobia had chosen a rather narrow rock, likely so that Lina and Gourry could only charge her one at a time. To either side of her was a pool of molten sand, glowing yellow as it slowly crawled to the ocean. The water on Lina's skin evaporated as sweat started to take its place, and not for the first time Lina wondered why she could never be bothered to pull her hair off her neck in the morning as it started to stick uncomfortably. Still, she had bigger worries.

Lina drew her sword as she got within striking distance of Zenobia, and then they raced towards each other. There wasn't much room to maneuver on the rock outcrop, and it would be certain death if either of them fell. Lina was determined that it wouldn't be her! Zenobia brought her sword down and Lina ducked as she charged so she was now behind Zenobia so that Gourry could take her on from the front. Gourry lunged, but Zenobia parried. Somehow Gourry survived the exchange with his sword in tact and Lina turned around and prepared to charge at Zenobia while she was distracted with Gourry. Zenobia lunged at him, and he had to retreat, and she swiftly turned to parry as Lina lunged.

Lina's new sword was cut, and she threw it at Zenobia, who cleaved it again as Lina touched the ground and picked up a sharp, jagged rock. Zenobia swiped at Lina, who hesitated and fell back. Zenobia turned again just in time to parry Gourry's blow, and then he ducked out of the way of her next lunge as Zenobia turned to meet Lina, who had charged at the sword once more. Lina hoped that Zenobia would anticipate for her to duck again, and thankfully she did, moving in the way that Lina had anticipated as Lina varied her pattern to let the sword penetrate her left shoulder.

Pain seared her, but at least Lina had stopped Zenobia's movement. Gourry was screaming her name as Lina did her best to look cowed and wounded as a grin of victory broke out upon Zenobia's face as she pulled her sword out of Lina's shoulder and raised her arms for a killing blow, leaving herself unguarded. Lina moved quickly, and with her good hand she hit Zenobia's wrist with the rock. Zenobia cried out as she dropped her sword and it fell onto the molten sand. Lina's heart thrilled with satisfaction as a look of horror crossed Zenobia's face while a look of greed crossed Lina's. They needed that sword, no matter the cost!

Lina and Zenobia exchanged a glance, and then Zenobia swore and ran away. Lina looked back at the sword and her heart pounded as she saw that it was starting to smolder. She couldn't allow it to be destroyed. She crouched, and place her good hand on the ground and started to slide down to where the sword was.

"Lina, no, it's not worth it!" Gourry cried as he raced to where she was and grabbed her hand.

"Stop me and you'll regret it!" Lina shot back as she ignored the burning in her feet as she reached forward. There was no time to find something to cover her hands. She had to make this count for something! One of them had to get their powers back!

But then she felt herself being lifted up. She cried out in indignation as Gourry grabbed her and dumped her back on the rocky outcrop. "You think this'll stop me?" she shouted as her anger flared as she got back up, prepared to go back in for the sword, but then her heart skipped a beat as Gourry put one hand on the outcrop and carefully lowered himself towards the sand.

"Gourry!" she cried as she ran over and watched as he inched as closely to the sword as he could without touching the molten sand. And then with his free hand he grabbed it and started to move back up the outcrop.

Guilt flooded Lina as she grabbed him and helped to pull him back up. He dropped the sword onto the rocks, and Lina got a good look at his charred, fleshless hand. Between that and the smell, it was hard to not throw up, but she kept it together as she helped him to sit down. They both took some deep breaths and tried to recover. Lina glanced at Gourry's boots and saw the they were warped and looked as though they had melted. She hoped his feet were okay.

"Why did you do that?" Lina snapped, "I had it!"

"I'm your protector." He explained, "I may not have been good at it lately. Felt it was about time I actually protected you from something."

"Like myself?" Lina asked as she shook her head at her own recklessness. If it had been her hand that had been sacrificed she wouldn't have thought twice. But seeing the injury she would have willing taken on Gourry seemed to bring home how stupid she was being, "I couldn't have stopped you if you carried me away."

"You also never would have forgiven me, would you?" he asked as he looked away from her. She stared at him and felt her eyes well. Somehow, when they had both been powerful, they had effortlessly balanced her recklessness with his caution. But since losing their strengths, that balance had been impossible to regain. They were either completely ineffective or competent, but with a high price.

Lina rested her head against his shoulder and felt him relax a little. When she looked at him again, sweat was forming on his brow and his skin appeared clammy as he started rummaging through his things with his good hand. Lina suddenly longed for a healer. She had been prepared to sustain the injuries she needed because she knew that once they found Filia she would easily be able to heal them. Any sacrifice to gain the Blast Sword would be temporary at best. What Lina hadn't thought through was what if the injuries were so bad they wouldn't survive until they reached a healer. She took having healing magic for granted! Perhaps Gourry did have some good reasons for being overly cautious.

He finally pulled out a kit and dropped it as he closed his eyes as though exhausted by the effort. "Here," he said, "There's bandages and alcohol. From before I met you."

Lina nodded, and did her best to open it with her good hand as she tried not to swoon. She was starting to feel the effects of the blood loss. They looked at each other, him with a hand that was charred so badly it was useless, her with a shoulder injury, and they could see they were each thinking the same thing. How on earth were they going to patch each other up?

And then Lina started laughing at the absurdity of the moment, and after a minute Gourry started to join in. "How do we get ourselves into these situations?" Lina mused aloud between guffs of giggles.

"I'll say this." Gourry said as he put his good hand on the top of her head, "Life has certainly never been boring since I found you."

Lina smiled, and then she gently kissed him on the lips. "You're an idiot, but I love you."

He moved so that they could lean against each other for strength, and Lina looked at the bandages and wondered what Zachariah would do. Finally she grabbed them and the alcohol, and he placed his injured hand on her lap. As she pulled the cork out of the bottle with her teeth Gourry said affectionately, "It's about time you finally admitted it."

* * *

 **AN: At first I had planned for mermaids to attack, but then I basically had to confront the fact that fish people are the Slayerverse equivalent…as vile as those things are. Hence why it took me like 20 years or so to get around to writing them in one of my works.**


	8. All Apologies

"Just wait and see, by the time we find Filia we will be so good at living with just one arm that we won't know what we need the second for!" Lina said as she fumbled to tie a bandage around Gourry's hand. When he didn't reply she glanced up to his face, just in time to watch in horror as his eyes rolled up into his head.

She grabbed his shoulder with her good hand, but he was already going limp. "Stay with me!" she yelled as panic and confusion warred within her. Had he been that badly wounded and she'd not noticed? "Gourry, wake up! Stay with me!"

But his eyes stayed closed, his face ashen, and all Lina could think to do was shake him as she hurled threats and pleas at him to wake up. She'd not even noticed that her shouts had attracted someone until he put a hand on her shoulder and said, "I'm a doctor, stand back."

Lina looked at the middle-aged man in surprise. There were two other people with him, and both of them looked like sailors. Lina stood back, her thoughts slow and sluggish. She wanted to ask if the doctor could use magic. But the words caught on her tongue as he put a blanket over Gourry. "What happened?" he asked.

Lina felt a lump form in her throat. How could she explain that Gourry had jumped onto molten sand to retrieve a stupid sword so she wouldn't leave him? But the doctor seemed to zero in on Gourry's feet and he swore as he put his hand on them and tried to remove them. "His boots have melted onto his feet. He's in shock." The doctor pronounced as he grabbed a vial from his bag and forced Gourry to take some of it.

"You can help him?" Lina managed to say.

"I may be able to save him." The doctor replied.

"May?" Lina echoed.

"I won't be able to save his feet."

"What?" Lina yelled.

"Sid, get her to the frigate." The doctor said, "Neal, stay here and help me."

"No, I'm not leaving him!" Lina said as she rushed to Gourry's side.

"You're not going to want to see this." Sid said. "It's grisly business."

"I owe it to him to stay with him!" Lina said as she took Gourry's good hand.

"We don't have time to argue." The doctor said as he pulled a saw from his bag, and Lina felt her stomach twist. She'd heard that medicine without magic was downright barbaric. She braced herself for witnessing it firsthand. And while she knew it would have been a more encouraging sign for Gourry to be awake, she also had to admit that the only solace she had was that he was not able to feel a thing.

* * *

Lina was roused from sleep as a group of people came below deck. She looked at Gourry, sleeping on a large crate, and assured herself that he had not died, and then looked at the newcomers. The frigate was one of Granya's, and the trio who found them had been looking for people who had been shipwrecked. It had been the only bit of luck they'd had since winning the Blast Sword. Despite Doctor Anders efforts, Gourry had not woken up.

"You survived." Granya said as she drew closer and Lina recognized her.

"Yes." Lina said, her voice hollow, "And we may not have to worry about Zenobia for awhile. She's alive, but without her ace."

"In all the years I've down this I've never heard of fishpeople doing this." Granya said, "I was completely unprepared. Please accept my apologies."

"Carnage and destruction tend to follow where I go." Lina said lifelessly as she brushed Gourry's hair from his face.

"How is he doing?"

Lina bit her lip. The Doctor Anders had removed his feet and bandaged the stumps, and then bandaged his hand. He'd given Gourry a mix of potions and said that if he woke up he would survive. If he woke up. Lina finally settled for saying, "Doctor Anders didn't tell you?"

Granya put a hand on her shoulder. Lina flinched and pulled away. It was the sort of kind gesture that hurt to receive when she was lashing herself with recriminations and guilt. What was she thinking? Prioritizing regaining their power over their safety and wellbeing? How many times had she criticized Zelgadis for doing the exact same thing she'd done? And while she once would have hoped that they could find Filia quickly and end this nightmare, she was starting to doubt that they would be successful. They could barely scrap by without her powers. How the hell were they supposed to get anything of worth done now that Gourry was less than normal?

Disabled. Crippled. Invalid. His once beautiful, perfect body mutilated and useless. And she had driven him to it.

Granya replied, "Just remember, every worthy endeavor seems hopeless at some point. Keep fighting and you'll find the light again."

Lina looked at Granya as though she had sprouted a second head, but the older woman smiled encouragingly and turned to go back above deck.

* * *

Lina missed _The Freedom_ with its small, but private berth. Now she and Gourry were crammed below deck with the other passengers and a ton of cargo. She could hear their business, their fights, their woes, their drama, their sounds of sick as they endure seasickness. And she could hear them talk about her and Gourry, about his injuries, how he wasn't expected to survive and she was wasting good soup on him.

Lina glared at them as she balanced the bowl precariously on her knee. One of her arms was in a sling while her shoulder healed and she only had use of her right hand. She had to admit, though, that with her powers gone and one arm bandaged, she was hardly the intimidating threat she once was. But rather than focus on that, she focused on nursing Gourry. If he survived, every minute of this hellish ride would be worth it.

Someone came in from above deck. Lina didn't bother to see who it was. She truly didn't care. But soon the newcomer approached her. "Any change?" Doctor Anders asked.

"No." Lina said mournfully.

He held his lantern over Gourry did a scan of him under the light, and then reached a hand down to take his pulse, "It looks like you're taking good care of him."

 _I should have done that earlier._ Lina thought.

"I'm going to change his bandages." Doctor Anders said.

"How can I help?" Lina asked.

"Just watch." He replied as he hung the lantern over the rafter. The light wasn't great, but it was better than nothing.

Lina held her breath as he removed the bandages around Gourry's hand, and by the way he stiffened Lina could sense something was wrong. "What is it?" Lina asked.

The doctor lifted Gourry's hand, and Lina could see how black and bloated his fingers looked as the doctor said, "Gangrene."

"What!?" Lina barked.

"We're going to have to remove his hand as well."

* * *

They would reach port in a day. Lina had had no idea what they would do once they got there. Gourry was clinging to life, but he'd not woken up. And now he had no feet and no right hand. Traveling to find Filia was out of the question. Lina would have to write to her and hope she would come and find them. So to kill the time, Lina decided she'd better get a feel for what had survived the shipwreck that would be able to help tide them over.

While Lina didn't like sorting her items so publicly, she didn't have much of a choice. She'd waited until the other passengers were asleep, or at least were pretending to be asleep. Then she removed her mantle and untied her numerous bags from it and started to open them. Several ropes were empty, their contents lost during the swim to shore. It worried Lina that she had lost stuff and she tried to assure herself that hopefully it was the junk she'd been meaning to ditch for awhile anyway. She'd located her spare clothes easily enough, and some books and gemstones. Her priceless journal on magic was there, and due to the water protection spell that she had cast on it, in good condition. But she had had three bags of gold coins, and she couldn't find one of them! She took a deep breath and told herself to search again. They couldn't be gone! They'd had plenty to keep them comfortable for some time, but if it was gone…

Lina searched her bags again, and then a third time, and then she slumped on the floor in shock. All that had survived were a bag of gem stones, worth a good deal less in the Outerworld than the Inner one, and what little was in her coin purse. And between her busted arm and Gourry in the condition he was, their chances of finding a job were nil.

 _What will become of us?_ Lina wondered as she stared ahead of her as a fear she had never known started to wash over her.

"Lina?" Gourry asked hoarsely, and Lina felt her eyes moisten as she stood up and turned around to see Gourry's eyes open and looking at her.

"Hey!" she said as she reached his side and put her good hand on his arm, "You woke up!"

"How long was I asleep?" he asked.

"A few days." Lina said, taking a moment to relish that he was awake and would survive before focusing on how to tell him what he had lost and just what a tight spot they were in. "I was getting scared that you would never wake."

He reached a hand out to her, and then froze as he looked at the stump where his hand should have been. "Lina…"

"It got an infection." Lina said quickly, "As soon as we reach land I'm going to write to Filia. She'll be able to grow it back."

"But I can still feel it!" Gourry said as his eyes widened in disbelief, "How can it not be there?"

"Common occurrence when someone loses a limb." Zachariah said as he came up to them. "I still get phantom sensations in my arm."

Gourry looked at Lina with a panicked expression on his face, and Lina felt as though her heart was breaking. Was this how he'd felt when he struggled to tell her that her powers were gone? And she'd been so horrible to him! "Filia will fix it. She'll fix it all. And…there's more. Gourry, you're boots, they'd melted into your feet. They had to be removed as well."

"But I can feel them!" Gourry insisted. "I can!"

He pulled the blanket up and stopped cold when he saw the stumps, and then he lay back onto the hammock. He was silent for a few agonizing moments as Lina noticed that the other passengers were starting to rouse and watch. He didn't even have the dignity of some privacy during a moment like this. She wondered if this typically gentle man would lose it. But when he did talk, it was in a soft, defeated tone, "But how can I be of any use to you like this?"

Lina seemed to feel the eyeballs of everyone watching. She did all she could to ignore them. "You make me laugh. That's how."

"That won't keep you safe."

"It will keep me going during this rough stretch. That's all this is, a rough stretch." Lina said as she reached for his good hand and squeezed it, "And from now on, I'm not traveling with you for a sword, or to replace a sword or because I need a protector. I'm traveling with you because I like traveling with you and I want to be with you!"

"But how am I going to travel like this?" he asked as his eyes welled and he bit his lip.

"Then we'll stay put! And I'll stay put with you because I like being with you!" Lina practically yelled. Somehow she needed to get through his thick head that she wasn't leaving.

He looked at her, and that he was questioning her resolve was plain. But then he turned away. Lina bit her lip. He may doubt her now, but he would see. No matter how hard it got, she would stay. Even if Filia never came, she would find a way to make it work. Somehow.

"Here." Zachariah said as he handed Gourry something.

"What's this?" Gourry asked, and Lina watched as he held up a metal hook.

"Doc can install it before you leave." Zachariah said. "Won't quite replace your hand, but it will help?"

"This is supposed to make up for a hand?" Gourry asked harshly.

"It'll make it a little easier. And everything you can do to level the field helps." Zachariah explained. "You work with sailors for awhile and you'll find, people like us always find a way to stay afloat."

* * *

 **AN: Why do I write stuff like this? Anyway, one of the things I liked about the novels that really didn't make it to the anime was the evolving reasons that Lina and Gourry travel together (first for the SOL, then to find a sword to replace the SOL, and then traveling together because they like it). Wanted to rectify that a bit.**


	9. Our Future

A crash rang through the street, and the hand that was holding her quill jerked, smudging the ink as people started yelling. Lina looked up and saw that two wagons had crashed. The drivers seemed okay as they got up, stunned, and looked at their wares that were strewn across the street. As the crowd started to gather, Lina decided it was no business of hers, and glanced back at her letter and scowled. It was horribly untidy and she hoped Filia would be able to read it. Between only being able to write without a hand to steady the paper while her shoulder healed and the mess she had just made she worried about it being barely legible. Still, paper was expensive, and right now they needed every cent.

Gourry came up to her. Thanks to the hook and his abundant and developed upper body strength, he was able to support his weight with his arms and hand and able to move on his own with surprising ease by holding his body like a plank. People stared though, and not in a way he was accustomed to. And while he outwardly shrugged it off like he did the jabs at his intelligence, the look in his eyes told Lina that he took these a lot more personally.

"How's the letter coming?" he asked as he sat on the curb beside her.

"Fine." Lina lied. She'd been able to write about losing her powers easily enough. But every time she attempted to explain what had happened to Gourry she hit a brick wall of guilt. She forced herself to look at him and smile. She worried that if he noticed that she had difficulty looking at him now he would think it was because she was ashamed to be with him. "Just need to wrap it up."

She took a deep breath and asked herself how much longer she wanted to struggle with the letter? But before she could complete it, one of the wagon drivers started to shout, accusing the other of being careless in causing the accident. Lina welcomed the distraction from her thoughts as she watched the argument in the middle of the street and hoped that it would build into a fight. The other driver replied with a string of curse words, and Lina leaned in closer as she realized he had taken it up a notch.

"Wish we had some popcorn." Gourry said.

"Yeah. It's nice not to be at the center of trouble for once." Lina agreed as an official looking type came up to defuse the situation. Lina's hope that one of the wagon drivers would take a swing at the official was short lived as the actors started to settle down. Realizing the show was over, she returned her attention to the letter she needed to finish and send. But watching and judging others for their stupidity was so much more satisfying than reliving hers.

 _Just get it done with!_ She told herself, and then she braced herself as she wrote simply that there had been an accident and Gourry had been gravely injured. She released the breath as she closed the letter with details on where they were and a plea for help.

"Well, now that's done." Lina said as she folded the letter and put it in the envelope she'd already prepared before she put the quill and ink jar away into one of her bags. She stood up from the curb she had been sitting on and glanced at the building she and Gourry were now renting a room from. The dump she was currently living in didn't even have a window, and candles and oil were expensive. The convenience of a light spell was no longer hers to wield. It was too dark inside to write, not that being outside in the slums was much better. "Will you be okay until I get back?"

"I can still hold my own." He said, though there wasn't a hint of resentment in his voice as he smiled at her.

Lina nodded, and then leaned forward to kiss the crown of his head. Now it seemed imperative that she was affectionate in public. He reached a hand out to stroke her cheek as she said, "Love you."

"Love you." He replied, and then she turned and started to walk down the narrow street.

The smells of rot, piss and soot assaulted her from all directions, and she did her best to tune out the sounds of people arguing in their cramped homes. While Lina had been to the slums, she'd never had to live there. Yet after selling everything they had of value that they felt safe parting with (there was no way they were selling the Blast Sword) they'd barely been able to afford a month's rent. Lina still wasn't sure how they were going to eat if she wasn't able to find some sort of work, much less how they would afford a second month's rent if Filia didn't arrive quickly. She ran her hand through her hair and thought that she could sell it to a wigmaker. It was just hair. It would grow back. And it would just be one time until she got a job or Filia healed them.

Lina tried to think of work that she could do once she recovered. But without her powers all she could think of was the shitty jobs open to a normal girl, a situation that was worse in the Outerworld with no sorcerer's guild she could sell reports to or offer to teach at. She could sew and spin and be paid poorly for her labors. But then, while Lina did mend her clothes while on the road, her spinning and weaving skills were poorly developed. Breaking into that business didn't seem feasible. Perhaps she could get a job in a store, though those tended to be family run businesses. She loathed the idea of being a waitress. If she had to do that all she would be able to think about would be how Luna was a better waitress than her, and Lina couldn't stomach the thought of living under that cloud. No, waitress would be at the bottom of the list and only if things were truly that desperate.

"Clear!" a young girl yelled from a balcony, and Lina moved to the side and narrowly avoid the contents of a chamber pot. She wrinkled her nose and looked up to see the young maid close the door and decided she'd discovered a new level of desperation. A maid would be worse than a waitress. Cleaning someone else's chamber pot was something she wanted no part of.

A door opened, and a woman wearing heavy rouge escorted a man out. Lina blushed as she realized it was a brothel and quickly looked away as the woman drew her robe more tightly around herself and closed the door. _And just like that, there's a new rock bottom._ With a shudder Lina reflected that she was closer to understanding the desperation that would compel someone to do that than she ever wanted to be. As it was they'd barely eaten since leaving _The Freedom_ the previous afternoon _._ Her stomach growled and she was so hungry…

A scream tore through the street, providing a welcome distraction from her thoughts. Albeit only temporarily. Lina looked up and to her right and saw the red, white and blue striped sign of a barber-surgeon. Her hands started shaking as gooseflesh erupted on her skin. She had never fully understood the barbarity of medicine without magic until she watched as Doctor Anders amputated Gourry's feet. And at least Gourry had been unconscious! Whoever was inside did not have that luxury.

Memories rose through her mind, Lina hurriedly crossed the street, desperate to put some space between her and the barber surgeon. She narrowly avoided running into several people, but her luck ran out as she got to the sidewalk and a tall man put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, cutie." he said as he leered at her and between the gesture and the smell of rotting teeth in his mouth, Lina's disgust rose.

"Get lost!" she yelled as she did her best to make herself look as big as possible, though she knew it was a lost cause.

But he tightened his grip on her shoulder as he smiled and said mockingly, "That's not a nice thing to say."

Fear coursed through her as she lifted her foot and kicked him in the shin. He cried out and let go of her, and Lina ducked and ran behind him as she muttered, "I'm not nice."

She then increased her speed as she walked and hoped that she would find the post office soon. She'd been told it was just down the street, but hadn't gotten a feel for how far down, something she was regretting now. What if it had been where the pervert was and she'd run right past it in her haste to get away? If she turned around to find it would he still be there?

But then a door slammed open, and a young man ran out so fast that he nearly knocked Lina over. As he narrowly avoided her and continued down the street Lina glanced at the building he had run from and to her relief saw a sign with a letter on it. An older man came to the door and yelled as he raised his fist, "Don't you even think of coming back here, you ingrate! And forget collecting your wages!"

Lina's eyes widened as she saw the mess of paper behind him that littered the floor, and the old man looked at her and said, "If you're wanting to post something, we're closed."

"What happened?"

"He couldn't alphabetize worth shit." The old man explained, "I asked him to redo it and he threw all the mail on the floor, trashed the place."

"Wow." Lina said as the wheels in her head started to spin, "Hey, I know my arm is no good, but you don't need two arms to pick up paper and organize it. Why don't you hire me on?"

The old man folded his arms across his chest as he scowled at her, "Because in my experience little girls are even worse at alphabetizing."

Lina flushed as she tried not to think about the indignity of begging for a job from such an ass. But the truth was they desperately needed the money, "Well with a mind like that I bet you think that cleaning up after your messes is exactly what a girl like me should be doing. So at least hire me to do that!"

He raised an eyebrow, "You're sharp, I'll give you that."

"Well, how bought you let me clean this up, and if I get it organized to your satisfaction as well, you hire me on. What were you paying that kid?"

"A girl like you should have someone who can support her." He said, "I'll pay you a quarter. And that's only if I like your work."

"Three quarters." Lina said.

"Half."

"Deal." Lina said as she tried to swallow her anger. She was in no position to argue, and the least she could do for Gourry now was see that they didn't starve.

"Get in here then, girl." He said.

"Lina." She said, and then she followed him into the post office as she tried to push aside worries of what Gourry would do when she didn't come home soon. Unfortunately there was no way to let him know she'd found a job, and she knew the postmaster would not be understanding if she asked to leave to tell him and come back.

* * *

Lina had stopped by the bakery for some bread and soup, and reflected that at least they had enough for food for a few days now. But of course, despite the fact that Lina knew her work was good and solid, the postmaster had set the bar so high there was no way anyone could reach it, and she'd had to contend with making due with a day's wages and the knowledge that at least the letter to Filia was at the top of the queue.

 _Something else will come up tomorrow,_ she told herself, _something with a nicer boss._

As she drew closer to the slum she could hear the sounds of rough housing and laughter and the clack of sticks and figured that the neighborhood kids were playing in the street. As she got closer her eyebrows hit her hairline as she saw Gourry standing in the center on the stumps of his legs, holding a wooden practice sword. He was surrounded by dirty street urchins with impish smiles on their faces, and for a moment Lina felt her heart leap into her throat as she wondered if they were ganging up on him.

But then he said, "Come at me."

Lina released a breath as they came at a rather standard attack pattern that he must have taught them, and Gourry worked on defending himself with just one hand while balancing on stumps instead of feet. Footwork was so important for a swordsman, and Lina wondered if he could even do it without them. Yet even with three limbs missing, he was surprisingly agile, though she could tell his skill level had taken a hit. But given it was his first time practicing since the accident, she couldn't help but be impressed as warmth grew in her lower stomach, and she was confused as to whether it was related to hunger or something else.

Gourry overextended and fell, and the kids charged forward, jabbing his torso with the sticks. He took it in stride as he sat up, "Good practice. Same time tomorrow?"

"Right, Mr. Gourry!" they said, and Lina walked up to him as they scampered away.

"It looks like you've made yourself useful." She said.

"I guess." He said wistfully, "Smells good."

"Doesn't it?" Lina said as they started towards their dwelling. "Sorry I've been gone for so long. A job opportunity fell into my lap and I had to take it, so we have food for a few days."

"It didn't feel like you were in danger." He said as they started to climb the rickety staircase, "So I figured that if you were gone for so long you must have had a good reason. And it smells good!"

"I got the letter in the mail, so hopefully Filia will get here soon and fix all this." Lina said as a woman came onto the staircase.

Her eyes widened in distaste as she saw Gourry and she spat, "I would hope I'd have the decency to die before I live like that!"

"And I will hope that this will smack some manners into you!" Lina roared as she punched her in the face.

The woman cried out as Gourry put his hand on Lina's shoulder, "Lina, come on, she's not worth it."

The woman ran back into her building, and they continued on to their room. Finally she got to their door and got out her key. Of course, the door was so flimsy it almost didn't seem worth locking it. Lina felt that even a gentle breeze would sweep it away. And it wasn't as though they had much of value anyway. A table, two chairs and a narrow bed. All so ratty and tattered they wouldn't be worth stealing. Still, it was a place to call home.

"That soup smells good." Gourry said as he sat down on the chair, and Lina got out the bowls and utensils they used while on the road to eat with.

"Doesn't it?" Lina said as she finished dividing their meal and cutting the bread, and then she sat down. They were silent for a moment as they ignored the sounds of the other tenants in the building as they ate. Her appetite had decreased since she lost her powers and wasn't walking all day, and between that and the fact that for once their food was severely limited, engaging in their usual food fight didn't seem wise. Even as she missed it.

 _What if this is forever?_ She wondered, and then she shook her head. This couldn't be where they ended up for the rest of their life!

"So where did you find a job?" Gourry asked as he slurped his soup.

They caught up with each other's day as they ate, and the meal ended far too soon. Even with her deceased appetite, the bread and soup were not enough. From across the table Gourry's stomach growled. "Sorry." He said, "It was good."

"It wasn't enough." She said as she thought morosely of how much food she could have gotten if she'd been paid the ingrate boy's wages.

"It was something. More than I could give. I just played with kids all day."

"You never know what that will lead to." Lina said as she reached across the table and grabbed his hand, relishing in its warmth and life. It also sent sparks straight through her, dulling the hunger pains.

"All I can do now is make things harder for you." He said. "What if Filia can't help us?"

"Then we'll make it work." Lina said firmly.

"Lina…"

"Even if you become completely bedridden, we'll make it work." She said as she grabbed a rag to wipe the dishes with before she put them away, and then she kicked her boots off before she removed her mantle and let it drop to the floor as she considered that it was too dark for her to read or journal or do much else, except for one thing that kept coming to mind. She looked at the bed and wondered if she had enough courage to say it. She took a deep breath as she stood up and walked over to him. "No matter what happens, I want to be with you."

She stood before him and then leaned down, "I want to prove it to you, you know. I think it's past time that we take this to the next level." She said quietly but firmly as she leaned forward to kiss him deeply. He moved his hand behind her head to pull her a bit closer as he let her, fully quieting the sense of hunger and leaving only a want, before he pulled away a bit.

"Lina…I've wanted you for so long, but now…it just seems like a strange time. Now that my body is like this."

"It doesn't dampen anything." Lina said quickly, "You're still hot."

He raised an eyebrow at her skeptically, "It's hard to believe…"

"Well, are you going to be like Zel?" Lina shot back, "Bemoaning your body and how no one will love your or whatever?"

"I just don't want you to do this out of pity or because you think you owe me." He said quietly.

"That's not it at all!" Lina said as she blushed, "But I don't think you know what it does to me when I watch you practice swordplay. And I don't feel like fighting it anymore!"

He smiled as he raised his eyebrows, "Oh!"

"Oh, don't get so cocky!" Lina yelled.

"I thought that was the point!" Gourry said as he got off the chair and made the short distance to the bed, "But you're the smart one, so I'll just do what you say!"

The bed creaked ominously as he got into it, but neither were paying it much mind as Lina said, "Oh, you are asking for it!"

She jumped on top of him, and the bed shuddered and groaned in protest before it collapsed beneath them with a thundering crash. Both of them cried out as Lina fell against him. Then she carefully lifted herself up and looked down at him, who was looking up at her, stunned.

"You okay?" she asked.

He nodded, "You?"

"Fine." Lina said, and then she laughed as she buried her face in his shoulder, "We didn't even start, and we broke the bed!"

He was silent for a moment as she continued to laugh, but then he wrapped his hand around her and started to laugh as well, "Just imagine what we could do if we went all the way!"

Lina lifted her hand to wipe tears from her eyes, "Oh, we'd totally demolish this building!"

"Demolish?" he asked as he reached a hand up and stroked her hair before moving down her back.

"You know, tear down, destroy…" And then she yelped as he cupped her butt.

"Well, honey, if ever a building needed to be demolished, it's this one!"


	10. Behind Blue Eyes

"You're back." The postmaster said as he barely looked up from his desk as Lina walked in.

"Still haven't found a replacement?" Lina replied, careful as always to modulate her voice between eager and energetic without a hint of a condescending "gotcha." And for the past month, her gamble that the postmaster was so insufferable that no one who was learned enough for the job would want to put up with him paid off. Every day he had plenty of work for her.

"The job is yours for the day if you want it." He said, still not bothering to look at her.

"I do, only, look." Lina said as she waved her left arm, which was now out of the sling. It was still stiff but she had started exercising it with Gourry the previous night to get it back it its full strength. "This is better now, and now that I have two hands I can find full time work as a maid or a waitress…"

He finally looked at her and Lina held his gaze she worked to keep her smile pleasant and her face blank. Given her temperament, it was a lot harder than it sounded. He was an asshole, and no matter how good her work was he always managed to find fault with it at the end of the day, but overall he left her alone while she was working. And while the job was boring, at least it was not degrading. While she'd clean up someone else's mess if she had to, she desperately didn't want to. And if she took a job as a waitress all she'd never get her sister's voice yelling, "shut up and do it!" to whatever ridiculous demand a customer made out of her head. No, the post office was better than either of those options.

And while she had checked other places she'd not had a lot of luck finding employers willing to hire a "little girl" for anything substantial. This was made harder by the fact that she was so busy earning money that she didn't have time to hit the pavement. She'd thought about going to the library to show off her translating skills, but they were always closed by the time she got off work. And if she didn't go for one day, she risked the postmaster finding someone else to replace her and losing the only income they had. So she kept returning to the place where her odds were best that she could find some way to make money with every day, and so far it had paid off. It had kept them fed and they were able to save enough for next month's rent.

So what if her tongue was sore from constantly being bitten? They were fed, so it was worth it.

The postmaster continued to stare at her, his mouth slightly ajar, his eyes wide. Lina decided she had to risk pushing the envelope a bit. "With the tips I could make as a waitress I could even make more than what I'm earning here."

He sighed as he stood up and said, "Are you wanting the job?"

Lina felt her heart race, but damned if she was going to settle for the pennies he was currently paying her without a fight. "If I get the full wage."

He continued to stare at her, betraying nothing of what he was thinking. But then, Lina knew that he needed her. Finally he said, "It's yours then."

Lina felt relief wash through her, "Thank you. I'll get straight to work!"

She walked over to her desk, mentally calculating what she could do with the increase in wages as she started her workday.

* * *

Gourry held the block of wood with his hand while he gripped the carving knife with his mouth. Whittling was something he liked to do after a long day's travel. It was easy and mindless, a good way to relax and create something of beauty. He'd thought that his days of whittling were behind him when he'd lost his hand, at least, until they found Filia and hopefully had it regrown.

Yet when they'd first moved to the slums, Gourry had tried to find work while Lina was gone. There was so much time to kill, and surely there was something he could do to help out. But people would take one good look at him and laugh to his face as they slammed the door without even giving him the opportunity to try. While he tried to dust it off with his typical good naturedness, after a week of solid rejections it was impossible for him to pick himself up and try again. Dejected, he sat on the street in front of the slums and, bored out of his mind, decided to see if there was a way he could reclaim the ability to whittle and had eventually found that he could hold the knife with his mouth.

As the days passed his actually got somewhat good at it. In fact, even though he continued to practice swordplay to keep his skills as sharp as possible, he reluctantly had to admit his skills at whittling were better than they were with the sword now. And if he thought about it too much a black well of depression would stretch before him. So he took a moment, and then focused on the block of wood and the figure that it would become.

"There you go, sitting there useless while your wife goes out to support you." Aja said as she came up to him. While Lina had punched her on the second day they'd moved in for her cruelty, she'd quickly realized that Gourry wouldn't do much to defend himself and had taken to venting at him when Lina was gone. Gourry told himself that he didn't mind too much. After all, Aja never said anything he wasn't already thinking. He couldn't argue with the fact that Lina had to go out every day to work for that detestable man while he did nothing of value.

And Lina had been far too kind to him about it. So kind it was scary. It was strange, because for years he had wanted it to be like this between them. But now that it was finally happening, he felt so bad for being worthless, for making the wrong choice in the first place that he couldn't genuinely savor it. He did his best to not let it show. She was working so hard to support them and to make him happy. If anything, Aja was giving him the treatment he felt he deserved.

So Gourry ignored her as he continued carving as she glared at him and put her hands on her hips, "Well what do you have to say for yourself?" When he continued to ignore her she yelled, "Did you go deaf as well?"

"Did you carve these yourself?" A man asked as he walked up. Gourry looked up at him and saw that he was dressed in gaudy, mismatching colors. He was definitely someone who wanted to stand out and be noticed.

Gourry set the block of wood down and took the knife out of his mouth and wiped the saliva on the handle on his pants as he said, "Yes."

"Can I see your work?" the man asked.

Gourry pointed to a bag that was beside him, "It's in there."

The man took one out, one that Gourry had carved before he lost his hand and said, "Incredible."

"That was before the accident." Gourry said quietly.

The man waved a hand, "No one needs to know that."

 _Huh?_ Gourry frowned, "Who are you?"

"Munrab." He said as he stuck his hand out, and Gourry hesitantly shook it. "And I have a business offer for you."

Gourry's ears perked a bit, "You do?"

"How about you come to my circus, and we sell these pieces?"

"Sell them?" Gourry repeated, "But why would anyone want to buy them?"

"Because they were carved by the man with one hand and no feet!" Munrab explained, "Trust me, they will sell like hotcakes! Especially if you just sit in a chair and let people watch while you whittle."

"Do you really think they'll sell?" Gourry asked, not convinced at all, but desperate to do anything to help.

"Filthy little liar." Aja said, "I'll tell everyone it's a scam, that these were carved before he lost his hand!"

"Oh, piss off!" Munrab said as a bit of guilt rose within Gourry. It would involve a bit of deception. But then he did have some decent pieces he'd done after he lost his hand. And it wasn't as if he was good at remembering which ones were carved before or after anyway. And he desperately wanted to help Lina improve their situation.

Aja shook her head and walked away, and Gourry looked at him and asked, "Do you really think she'll tell everyone?"

"I don't think it will matter." Munrab said, "So, you interested?"

Gourry narrowed his eyes, "How much will I get?"

"Twenty percent."

Gourry was so desperate for money that he almost agreed, but then he knew Lina would have his hide if she found out he took the first offer. "This is my work! Seventy-five percent!"

"But I'll provide clients and a platform for your work! Thirty!"

"How many one-handed whittlers are you going to find?" Gourry asked, "Sixty."

"Forty."

"Fifty."

"Deal."

* * *

Gourry was smiling as he got home. For once he had some money in his pocket, and he'd sold all of his carvings. Sure, people gawked at him as he carved, but people always gawked at him now, and at least he was getting paid for it. Of course, now that it was all gone he wouldn't be able to do it tomorrow, but Munrab had offered to let him join his freak show.

He saw Lina walk down the street, looking tired but seeming to be in a good enough mood. As she approached she sat down beside him and then reached for him and pulled him into a hug as she said, "Well, the building's still standing."

He laughed as he kissed her, and then pulled away to say, "We'll have to try harder tonight."

"Challenge accepted," she said with a wicked grin as she gave him another quick kiss, and then she pulled away to touch her forehead to his, "Especially since I have good news. I got on full time with the post office, and at full salary! I've been crunching numbers all day, but I think we can even afford something a bit nicer, it's just a matter of getting some time to look."

Gourry felt pride course through him as he pulled out the bag of money he'd earned and said, "Will this help?"

Lina's eyes widened as she took it and opened it, "Damn, where did you get this?"

For some reason he couldn't identify, he was reluctant to tell her, "I earned it."

"But how?" she asked, and he bristled.

"I sold my carvings." Gourry said.

"You what?" Lina asked, and so he explained about Munrab, and Lina's eyes grew more and more narrow the more he talked, and then she yelled, "You let him turn you into a sideshow attraction!?"

Gourry straightened in annoyance. He thought she'd be happy, "I don't mind. I didn't think you would either. Money is money."

"I mind!" Lina said as she stood up, "Where is that Munrab! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!"

"Why do you mind so much?" Gourry asked, his voice low, "Being dressed as a woman was worse than this!"

Lina grew red as her hands clenched into fists, and it was as though the frustrations during the long month of being at her best that she'd shoved down were breaking through, "That was different! You had two hands and two feet then! You weren't…"

She stopped as she realized where she was heading, and then Gourry finished for her, "A freak?"

She turned away from him, and he turned to look into the street, the tension between them thick until it was suddenly broken by a familiar, high pitched voice calling, "Miss Lina!"

"Is that…?" Gourry asked.

"Jillas?" Lina said, and then she reached down to grasp his hand as she turned in the direction the voice had come from, and Gourry knew they were both hoping that Filia and Jillas had finally found them.

"Miss Lina! Mr. Gourry!" Jillas cried as the red fox beastman finally came into view. But Filia was nowhere to be seen. "I finally found you!"

Lina and Gourry exchanged a look, "Not that we're not happy to see you, but where's Filia?" Lina asked, cutting straight to the chase.

To Gourry's alarm, tears formed in Jillas's eyes, "The boss, she was captured."

"What!?" Lina and Gourry both cried out at once as Jillas took a note out and gave it to Lina.

Gourry looked at her as she read it, and then she looked at him, "It says that if we want her back we'll have to fight." Lina said, "And it gives a location close to here."

"We must leave at once!" Jillas said, seemingly blind to the fact that neither Lina nor Gourry were at top strength. Lina met his eyes once more, and he could see the doubt within. Was this something they could even do?

"But who took her?" Gourry asked, "I mean, she's a golden dragon. That can't be easy for an ordinary human."

"We have no idea who took her." Jillas said, "She was getting ready to leave after she got your letter, and then she just vanished. Gravos and I looked high and low and all we could find was this note. Gravos stayed behind to watch Valgaav and the store while I set off to find you. Please, let's not waste any more time!"

Gourry looked at Lina to try to gauge her thinking. But then, what choice did they really have? Filia had gotten roped into this mess because of them. They couldn't wash their hands of this to stay safe. _Staying safe is what got us here in the first place,_ Gourry thought miserably.

Lina smiled a little as she closed her eyes and said, "Well, honey, looks like we're saving a golden dragon tonight."


	11. What Might Have Been

Gourry started squinting at about the same time Jillas started sniffing. Lina, who was walking in between them, stopped, and looked from side to side, "What is it?"

"I think…" Gourry said as he moved from walking on his hands to standing on his stumps, "That's Zenobia."

"Zenobia!?" Lina exclaimed, but then Gourry motioned for her to hush. Lina looked around. Gourry's eyesight was better than hers, and she was often amazed at what he could see. Especially now that she could see no trace of a human presence in the desert. All she saw on the horizon were rocks. Still, if Gourry could see Zenobia then there was a chance she could see them, "Doesn't she know when to quit?"

"It makes sense, though. Doesn't it?" Gourry said.

"But how did she kidnap a golden dragon without the Blast Sword?" Lina asked. "If she kidnapped her."

"She did!" Jillas said as his fur stood up straight, "I can smell the boss!"

Gourry continued to scan the horizon as he said, "I don't see her. Though she could be behind the rock outcrop that Zenobia is sitting beside."

"What else do you see?" Lina asked.

"Not a lot. Zenobia is just sitting there, waiting."

"Anyone else?" Lina asked, thinking Zenobia had to have had some help with this project.

"It's just the boss and that woman." Jillas said as he sniffed the air, "But there's gunpowder. Lots of it."

"Interesting." Lina said as she saw a nearby rock outcrop and indicated her head towards it before she went to sit behind it. "Gourry, I know your eyesight is legendary…"

"It is?" Gourry asked incredulously as he followed her.

Lina sighed and shook her head as she moved on, "And it's doubtful that Zenobia has the nose of a fox person. She is an expert swordswoman, though. Do all top notch swordspeople have good eyesight?"

Gourry shrugged, "My eyesight is rather normal to me, I mean, I guess I thought everyone could see this well."

Lina put her head on her hand and muttered to herself. "What?" Gourry asked.

"I'm trying to figure out what the chances are that Zenobia saw us!" Lina said, perhaps a bit too loudly.

"It's rather hard to say." Gourry said, "She doesn't seem more alert or anything though."

Lina exhaled and decided she would have to take that as she thought about what Zenobia's strategy could possibly be. Was she some gunpowder expert like Jillas as well? Was she planning to blow them away if they approached from the front? As Lina considered and discarded different strategies she eventually settled on one that had the lowest risk. But it still felt reckless. Especially given their impediments. "I think we should split up."

"What?" Gourry said as he stood up in alarm.

"I want you to be our ace." Lina explained. "I want her to think we left you at home, that you were too injured, lure her into a false sense of security. I'll have the Blast Sword, slice through whatever bombs she throws at me, keep her attention occupied. And then you attack from behind."

Gourry was silent for a moment, and Lina desperately hoped he wouldn't get all noble about attacking Zenobia from the back. But then he finally said, "I guess chivalry doesn't count for much if the other side doesn't fight fair."

Lina relaxed a little. They'd already lost enough, and if Zenobia had gone so far as to kidnap a golden dragon, then this was obviously was not a woman who was going to give up. She had to be taken down. From beside her Jillas asked, "What about me?"

"You're with me. Keep her attention on us. And I need you to be alert, figure out what she's doing with that gunpowder." Lina said. "Any questions?"

Both Gourry and Jillas stared back at her. Lina squared her shoulders and tried to project a confidence she did not have. She was above average with the sword, and having the Blast Sword would help. But she had not been at Zenobia's level. Hopefully the strength and abilities of the sword would help. But she'd still not found her stride in the battlefield since losing her powers, and the last time she fought the price of victory had been high. Too high.

And this would be Gourry's first battle since losing his limbs. Frankly, Lina was nervous about all that could go wrong. But she didn't want Gourry to know that. She needed him to go into this knowing that she believed he was capable of doing this. She looked at him. He looked as calm and composed as he ever did. And then he turned and smiled at her as he patted her on the head, "Well, next time we meet we'll be on our way to getting your powers back." He said as he smiled.

Lina returned the smile as she punched him playfully on the shoulder, "After we've regrown your limbs."

"You've been without your powers longer. You should go first."

Lina's eyes narrowed, "We'll argue about this after we've taken out Zenobia."

"Deal." He said as they held hands.

"Can we get going?" Jillas asked as he stood as close to the edge of the outcropping as he could, his body tense as though he was holding himself back from charging from sheer force of will.

"Right, right." Lina said as she waved him away, and then she grabbed Gourry's shirt and pulled him to her and gave him a quick but passionate kiss.

"Is this really the time!?" Jillas asked.

Lina smiled and let Gourry go, "We'll pick that up later." She said as she winked at him, and he winked back.

"Looking forward to it." He said, and then they went their separate ways.

* * *

By the time that Zenobia came into Lina's view, she was standing alert and ready. Lina did a quick scan for Filia but still could not see her as she put a hand on the handle of the Blast Sword and withdrew it as she started to run, keeping the sword between her and Zenobia, fully expecting her to start lobbing bombs at any moment. But then from across the distance Lina could hear a familiar chant, and the air became charged with power causing her skin to erupt in gooseflesh as Lina nearly stopped in her tracks. _It can't be!_

"Fireball!" Zenobia yelled.

"When did you learn to do that!?" Lina yelled as she brought her arms back and then forward to bisect the spell, relieved and amazed at the sword's ability to slice through it effortlessly.

"A lady doesn't give away her secrets." Zenobia said coyly as Lina fumed, leaving her to deduce that either she was a sorceress all along or she had quickly learned a spell or two after losing the Blast Sword. She desperately hoped it was the latter.

But then, what if the reason that Zenobia had never used a spell until now was because she also been stricken by the plague? And cured?

But Lina didn't have time to think through all of it as she let out a cry and charged forward. Zenobia grinned, and Lina could see her mouth move as she cast another spell. Jealousy erupted through Lina as all she could think about was how she wanted her powers back!

"Watch out!" Jillas yelled as he threw himself at Lina, knocking her to the ground just as an explosion went off right where Lina's foot had been, kicking up a ton of dust and sand which Lina inhaled deeply in an effort to catch her breath.

Lina started coughing as she struggled to get to her feet before Zenobia's next move as Jillas said, "She's planted bombs in the ground!"

Lina's stomach flipped as she thought about Gourry. Had Zenobia planted bombs from behind herself as well? She was about to asked Jillas to check, but then she felt a charge race through her, as well as a compulsion to jump, and she followed it as Zenobia cried, "Flare Arrow!"

Lina managed to dodge the spell, grateful that her years as a sorceress at least had left her reflexes sharp. But then she heard Jillas cry out as the Flare Arrow hit him, and Lina launched into action, knocking him down this time as she rolled him on the ground, dropping the Blast Sword in the process. Jillas continued to cry and yelp as the flames died down and Lina heard Zenobia chant once more.

Lina twisted to grab the Blast Sword once more but worried she wouldn't get in position in time. "Fir—"

But then Zenobia cried out, and Lina turned to see that the rock outcrop had seemingly grown a giant yellow tail with a cute pink bow that had knocked Zenobia's feet from beneath her. "Filia!" Lina cried as she placed the sword between her and Zenobia once more as the other woman scrambled to her feet, "Just in time!"

But Filia was silent, even as her tail continued to move back and forth lazily. "What did you do to her?" Lina asked as Jillas slowly got up beside her.

"You should be worried about yourself!" Zenobia spat as she moved forward a few paces to get out of reach of Filia's tail, but then stopped as her eyes widened in alarm.

"What's the matter?" Lina asked as loud as she could so Gourry could hear, "Forgot where you planted your bombs?"

Zenobia's eyes narrowed as she growled in response, and then she had to jump as Filia's tail rushed forward again before pivoting back and then forward, causing Zenobia to have to jump up and down as though she were skipping rope. The sight was so comical that it was all Lina could do but laugh as she exchanged a glance with Jillas as she tried to think about how to use it to her advantage as Zenobia started shouting curses. But then Filia's tail swung back behind Zenobia, farther than it had gone before, and triggered a bomb. Lina's heart leapt into her throat as it was confirmed that Zenobia had planted bombs from where Gourry would approach as Filia's tail, blackened and burnt with the pink ribbon decimated to ash, fell limply.

Zenobia ran her hand through her hair and smiled as she chanted another Flare Arrow, and Lina looked between the ground that separated them. There was no way she could jump it! And how was Gourry supposed to reach her from behind?

Zenobia released her spell, and Lina was pleased that she was fast enough to cut it as Jillas grabbed her tunic, and for a moment Lina worried that he was going to reveal that he was too injured to continue. Instead he whispered, "The bombs, I can smell where they are and guide him through."

"Do it." Lina said, "I'll keep her at bay."

Jillas scampered off, and Lina glared at Zenobia. So far she had only used the Flare Arrow and Fireball. If Lina had been in Zenobia's position, she would have used a larger variety of spells. Meaning Zenobia likely was not skilled in sorcery and had quickly learned two spells. And while Lina may not have been able to cast spells, there had to be a way she could capitalize on Zenobia's inexperience. If only she could get close to her!

Zenobia launched another Fireball, and Lina cut it in two. Until Lina could get closer they would be at a stalemate! Lina inched forward to the place where the bomb had already been activated and walked over the scorched earth, noting some rocks that lay on the ground. Careful to keep her sword arm up she knelt down and gathered them and then rolled one forward.

"Damn you!" Zenobia called as the rock rolled forward a few feet and then detonated another bomb.

Lina charged forward again and felt relief wash through her as she saw Jillas behind Zenobia, leading Gourry through the desert behind Zenobia. Both were keeping a low profile as they crawled through the sand and Lina was mostly sure that Zenobia had not noticed them. Zenobia started chanting again and Lina threw one of the rocks at her as she raced to the place where she had detonated the bomb. Of course, the rock Lina threw at her disintegrated harmlessly off the barrier that forms around a spell caster when they are chanting. Lina didn't let it slow her down as she rolled another one on the ground and watched as it made its way clear to Zenobia's feet!

Zenobia's eyes widened as Lina grinned and charged towards her, fully expecting Zenobia to finish the Fireball she was chanting. But then Zenobia reached down to the holster on her hip and pulled out a gun.

"Cut through this!" Zenobia yelled as she fired it. Lina swung the Blast Sword in front of her, but it was like trying to hit a fly! Something pierced her stomach and cleared her back, and Lina stood there for a minute as she felt as though she had been punched hard in the gut. She raised her head up as she felt a burning sensation through the bullet's path and watched as Gourry pulled out a knife and slashed Zenobia's ankles.

Zenobia cried out as she fell, but she managed to keep the gun in her hand as she turned towards Gourry. "No!" Lina cried as, with the last of her strength, she lunged forward and stabbed Zenobia through the chest. Zenobia locked eyes with her for a moment as the knowledge sank in that while Lina had not pierced her heart, the wound was close enough to the vicinity that without a healing spell it would be lethal. Lina exhaled a breath as Zenobia dropped the gun, and then she pulled the sword out of Zenobia's chest.

Zenobia cried out as she fell to the ground while Gourry took the gun and pocketed it as Jillas ran to Filia crying, "Boss! Boss!"

Lina felt the strength leave her as the pain reached a crescendo as she fell to her knees close beside Zenobia. She set the sword down as Zenobia's eyes closed as Gourry rushed to her side, "Lina!"

"Is she dead?" Lina asked, but then Zenobia's eyes fluttered open, answering the question.

Lina and Gourry watched her tensely for a moment as Jillas yelled, "The boss, she's knocked out cold!"

Zenobia tried to get up but collapsed back down, and it was obvious that her wound was severe enough to keep her from attacking again. Lina felt about the same as she grimaced in pain. "Lina!" Gourry said as he took off his shirt and put it over the gunshot wound and blanched as it quickly became soaked with blood.

Lina coughed and said to Zenobia, "She…Filia…could heal us all if she were awake."

"Oh, she'll be out for a few more hours yet." Zenobia said with a smile.

"What did you do to her!" Jillas demanded to know.

"I poisoned her." Zenobia explained as she laughed, "I asked her for help learning a spell, and then I offered a pie I'd made in thanks. Knocked her out cold."

 _Damn! If I only had my magic I could use dicleary!_ Lina thought as she started to think about the potions she had on hand that could be used as antidotes for different potions, but it was hard when she was starting to hurt so badly. "What poison did you use?" Lina asked.

"You think I'll tell you?" Zenobia replied, "I may be going down, but I'm taking you with me!"

Lina coughed again, the pain burning through her with each spasm as Gourry looked at her in alarm while Jillas came close to them and started to dance anxiously. "You know, Zenobia, you're resourceful. Talented, a great swordswoman, skilled enough to quickly learn some spells and how to use gun powder, I'm guessing. It's a shame really."

"Shame?" Zenobia asked.

"Yes, it's a shame you never wanted to work together. We would have been happy to have someone like you in the group. And then you could have played a part in actually destroying Shabranigdo. You could have actually done something worthy. Because while you may kill me, but you will never get credit for my accomplishments! You will never be Lina Inverse!"

Zenobia laughed as Lina started to see black flecks in her vision as she felt warm and dizzy. "And I may lose my powers, but I am still the stronger fighter. Because I have something worth fighting for. Even without my powers, I have things and people worth fighting for! And I will always be Lina Inverse."

A silence fell as time seemed to pause. The world was spinning so badly that Lina had to close her eyes, and when Gourry yelled, "Don't you dare! Stay awake!" it was loud enough to shock her into opening them again.

But just for a moment before the world started to fade and slip away.

* * *

 **AN: Almost at the end. Sometimes a fic clicks with me and practically writes itself effortlessly. This was not one of those fics, and I will be glad to be done with it!**


	12. Fly Away

Lina was slipping away from him. With each second that passed her grip on his hand grew weaker as her breathing slowed as sweat beaded on her face. Gourry felt as though the world was falling through a tunnel as a sense of surrealness rose. This couldn't be happening! Not when they were so close to help!

Jillas was yelling at Filia to wake up, and even though they were only a few feet away they sounded much farther than that, the cries distorted. That Lina was dying and there was nothing he could do about it was all that consumed him.

"Is she dead?" Zenobia asked, her voice somehow overlapping and merging with Jillas's.

Gourry barely paid her any attention as he silently pleaded with Lina to stay with him for however long it took Filia to wake up. She was strong, surely if someone could do it, Lina could!

"Is she dead?" Zenobia repeated as she raised her voice with the reserves of her energy, fully grabbing Gourry's attention before she trailed off weakly as her lead lolled to the side. "I have an antidote, I just need to know that she's dead first."

Gourry felt a pit form in his stomach. Could someone really be so cold? Was she really going to hold onto the antidote until Lina died? Gourry turned to look at Zenobia and thought that she didn't have long herself. If they could wake Filia up she would likely only have time to save one of them. This time Gourry didn't have to think too hard about his choice. "She's dead." He lied.

"What!?" Jillas exclaimed.

Zenobia reached into her pocket and pulled out a vial and then her arm collapsed by her side as she took a deep, heaving breath, "Give it to the dragon! Hurry! I need a healing spell."

"What makes you think we'll do that?" Jillas asked as he folded his arms and turned his face away.

"Give it to Filia." Gourry said. He was worried that if he left Lina's side to give Filia the antidote that she would slip away. What if he was what was anchoring her there?

"What?" Jillas asked.

"Death is too good for her." Gourry said bitterly. "Do it, quickly!"

Zenobia smiled as Jillas took the vial. Jillas shot Zenobia a dirty look before he turned around and gave it to Filia as Gourry silently pleaded with Lina to stay with him just a little bit longer. He wondered how long it would take for Filia to wake up. It seemed to be taking forever! What if she woke up too late? Lina's breathing was becoming uneven.

Just as he started to despair, Filia started to stir, "W-where am I?"

"You have to hurry and save Lina!" Gourry said as he turned to look and watched as Filia, in human form, sat up and ran a hand through her hair.

"What?" Zenobia exclaimed, her voice little more than a harsh whisper now.

"Huh?" Filia said as she got to her feet and for once seemed unperturbed that her tail was showing.

"She was hurt badly rescuing you." Gourry said as Filia finally seemed to get her bearings and raced to Lina's side as she started chanting.

"You lied!" Zenobia spat.

"Yeah, I guess I did." Gourry said as he kept his eyes on Lina and held her hand. And tried to ignore the sense of guilt that slowly started to creep.

"I don't know how much longer I can hold on!" Zenobia said as her voice cracked with desperation.

Gourry closed his eyes. "I don't know what to tell you. Other than that the reason we're even here is because of you. We'll save you if we can. But we're saving Lina first."

Zenobia's eyes rolled back into her head as she went limp as Filia continued to work on healing Lina. Zenobia let out a death rattle, and then the world became silent, save for Filia's chanting. Jillas came up and sat beside them as they waited for some sign that Lina was recovering.

At last she started to stir, and then her eyes opened. She smiled as she saw Gourry and said, "I'm not gonna lie. I like seeing you so worried about me."

"Try not to talk." Filia instructed, though then she chuckled, "I know that's hard for you, but still, try not to talk."

Lina smiled at her as Gourry squeezed her hand, "I'm so glad you stayed with me."

"It will take more than that to kill me." Lina said as Filia shook her head in exasperation.

"Not even one minute! You can be silent for longer than that!"

"Do I need to time her, boss?" Jillas asked as he pulled a watch from his pants.

"What sort of stakes are you willing to bet?" Lina asked.

Filia sighed, "Fine, forget it. Talk and waste your life energy for all I care!"

But Lina smiled as she closed her eyes, and silence finally fell upon the group again, but this time it was lighter and tinged with relief. Gourry could grapple with his conscience later now that Lina would live. He would have preferred to put Zenobia behind bars, and while he knew Zenobia had sealed her fate, he also had a choice in it. All the same, his guilt would have been infinitely greater if Lina had died instead. Somehow life kept throwing situations his way that didn't follow clear cut rules of right and wrong.

Eventually Filia stopped chanting, and Lina sat up and put her hand over her stomach where she'd been shot. "Wow, that's a lot better. Thanks!"

"Thank you for coming after me." Filia said.

"You have Jillas to thank. He went and tracked us down." Lina said, and Filia patted Jillas's head as he beamed at her.

"Do you think your powers are back?" Gourry asked.

A look of nerves flashed through Lina's face, and when she spoke she put a lot of effort into sounding nonchalant as she said, "That is the question, isn't it?"

"Why don't you try and see?" Filia asked as she walked over to Zenobia and checked for a pulse. She shook her head, and then she turned and considered Jillas, who was covered in fresh burns. "Goodness, you're next."

Filia started to chant again, and Lina looked apologetically as Gourry as she said, "I guess getting your limbs back will have to wait."

He shrugged, "I can wait a little bit longer. I'm more interested in seeing whether or not Filia's spell worked."

Lina's smile faltered a bit, "I guess I am too." And then she closed her eyes for a bit as though she was bracing herself for having her hopes dashed. Then she started chanting for a moment before calling, "Lighting!"

A brilliant orb of light formed between her hands, and Lina turned to look at Gourry as though she didn't quite trust her eyes, "You see it? I did it!"

"I see it!" he echoed as she jumped to her feet and started chanting another spell as relief swept through him. They had done it! Her powers were restored! His choice hadn't left her robbed of her powers forever!

"Fireball!" Lina yelled, and then she hollered in joy as the spell flew through the desert, "Oh I am back in action! Oh, it's been so long since I've released one of those! Damn, what should I do next? Oh I know! Darkness beyond twilight…"

"Do you think we should stop her before she destroys the desert?" Filia asked apprehensively.

"Let her have her fun." Gourry said as he smiled, perfectly content to watch her, "It's been awhile. And she needs to know that she can still do this stuff."

"Dragon Slave!" Lina yelled as the spell roared to life from her hands, and then she turned and ran into Gourry's arms, pretty much knocking him over. He wrapped his arms around her and was fully prepared when she started to kiss him.

"Hey, when did you two start doing that?" Filia cried, and then her eyes widened as they actually started to make out, "Hey! Hey! Get a room!"

"Spoilsport." Lina said as she pulled away and smiled.

"I'm done healing Jillas, so that means that re-growing Mr. Gourry's limbs is next." Filia said as she shook her head.

Lina got off of him and then helped him to sit up as Filia came up to them, and then they shared a smile as Filia started yet another healing spell.

* * *

After they had healed Gourry, Lina and Gourry had decided to go to the slums once more to retrieve some items before flying with Filia to Seyruun to see if more people there needed to be healed. They decided to walk back to city. Gourry was enjoying having feet again and they all wanted to fill each other in on what had happened.

Filia started first, and she explained about receiving their letter and meeting Zenobia who had offered her a pie for the journey, which she'd stupidly eaten. The next thing she knew Jillas was waking her up. Lina took over then, and talked about how Jillas had met up with them and the fight with Zenobia. But once she got to the part that she'd blacked out Gourry and Jillas had to take over. Or rather, Jillas took over and explained about how Gourry had tricked Zenobia into giving them the antidote.

Lina nearly stopped in her tracks when she heard this, and she turned and looked at Gourry, "You mean you told Zenobia I was dead when I was alive to get it?"

"Yeah." He said uncomfortably.

Lina squeezed his hand. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"I don't exactly feel good about it." Gourry said. "Especially since Zenobia died."

"That you don't feel good says a lot about you and a lot about her." Lina said, "If she had killed me she wouldn't have given a damn. She would have moved onto Granya or a new target."

Yet while part of Lina was glad that Gourry had managed to outplay Zenobia, she had to admit, there was a part of her that was sad that he'd had to do it. While his nobility and goody nature were frustrating at times, she couldn't deny that she also found them attractive. Still, as far as Lina was concerned, they were better off not having to worry about Zenobia anymore.

"Well," Lina said as she changed the subject as they entered the slums, "Now that we don't have to put down another month's rent and have the money we both earned, how about after we grab our stuff we go and get a good meal before we fly off to Seyruun?"

"Sounds perfect!" Gourry said.

"I am hungry myself." Jillas said as they reached their building.

"Great," Lina said, "Filia, Jillas, you can stay here. There's not much there so we won't be too long."

"Right," Filia said as she surveyed the place suspiciously as Lina and Gourry started to climb the stairs.

Aja stuck her head out as they walked past her room and her jaw about dropped as she saw that Gourry had his limbs back. Lina smiled as she squeezed Gourry's arm, "Bet you wish you were nicer now."

Aja blushed as Gourry added, "Who would have thought I didn't need my limbs to rescue a dragon?"

Aja slammed the door shut as Lina tsked, "All she cares about is how things look on the surface."

"Yeah," Gourry said, "We're people of summits!"

"Summits?" Lina repeated, "Oh, I think you mean substance!"

"Exactly!" Gourry said, "We're people of substance! We didn't give up on each other."

They reached their room, and Lina took a moment to hug him before she turned around and undid the lock, "Oh, I will not miss this place!"

"I dunno." Gourry said as he looked fondly at the broken bed, "I still kinda want to give tearing this building down one last shot."

"Who said we can't still demolish a building?" Lina asked as she gathered her stuff, "We will stay in plenty of fleabag inns, I assume. Unless this brush with domesticity has left you with wanting more."

"No," he said, "I think we should have more adventures first. But hey," he said as he came up and wrapped his arms around her, "Isn't it good to know that if we had to, we could have made it, with no magic and no limbs, together?"

Lina jumped up a little to kiss him as he caught her and held her close, "It is."

* * *

 **AN: Thank you for reading!**


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